Arson's Destiny
by Bustahead
Summary: The sequel to Darkness Falling is here by popular demand.
1. Prologue

Arson's Destiny

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Prologue

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Outside it was light but it was cold. England was in the middle of a snowstorm and the white flakes danced as they came to settle on the ground. Winter was here. The sky was clear but yet grey with the snow. Birds sang no longer as they fled to seek refuge where the weather was warmer. The trees were bare of leaves and now only bore the weight of the snow as it continued to fall. No doubt children would be rushing outside to play once the fall stopped. No doubt they would squeal and shriek with delight as they pelted each other with snowballs or made snowmen until their anxious mothers called them inside. Today would be a day of happiness and contentment for most. Not for him though.

            He pulled himself away from the window and returned back to his books. To his right, the fireplace was blazing and on his desk books were spread out. Dante had no time for such frivolous activities, though the kid inside of him often begged to be let loose. He would have been quite happy being able to hit Trish and use her for target practising. Now there was an idea. He stood up quickly, looking at the books in distaste. Researching on demons had never been his strong point. He had simply preferred to fight with them and learn the hard way. 

            'Trish?' he called. 'How about a little training, Trish?' He looked out of the window eagerly. The snowfall had finally stopped. His heart started to beat faster with childish excitement. Again he forced his eyes away from the white wonderland that lay outside. 'Come on, Trish!'

            'Yeah yeah, I'm coming already!' Dante smiled gleefully as Trish came downstairs, dressed in a warm jumper and jeans. She was holding a mug of coffee in her hands. 'What is it?' Dante sighed. 

            'Come on! Let's train!' Trish looked at him and then smiled. 

            'No.' Dante looked at her in surprise. 

            'No?'

 'No,' she repeated firmly. 'Besides I want to go and meet someone. It's Christmas.' Dante groaned softly to himself. 

            'Arson?' Trish nodded and smiled. 

            'We should all be together at this time.'

            'Trish! We don't even celebrate Christmas!'

            'You seem to forget that you're half human. You _are_ entitled to celebrate it.'

            'I don't want to.'

            'Well I do.' Trish marched out of the house and wondered whether she should walk to his apartment or drive. She looked at the roads. No, it would be safer to walk. Just then she felt a solid weight thump into the back of her neck and then the unmistakeable trickle of snow sliding down her back underneath her clothes. She whirled around and glared at Dante, who was smiling mischievously. 

            'Dante!' she yelled. Dante smirked. 'You'd think someone your age would know how to behave!' Another smirk.

            'Nope.' Trish narrowed her eyes and threw one at Dante, hitting him full in the face. Dante rubbed snow off his features and then hurled another one at her. Trish dodged, laughing at the same time. 

'Is your aim off or what?' she giggled. Just then she was hit again from the opposite direction. She spun on her heel to see a young girl standing there. 

            'Xyphos! How could you?' she wailed in mock misery. Xyphos giggled and joined in the fun. It was two against one. Dante suddenly chuckled throatily. 

            'Jeez! Girls can't throw to save their lives!' Xyphos and Trish glared at him. 'What?' Dante ended up on the ground completely covered in snow. Xyphos laughed. 

            'Look it's a Danteman!' Trish smiled. 

            'Where's Arson?' The look on Xyphos' face suddenly dimmed and turned serious. Dante got up and brushed snow from his clothes. 

'Yeah where is he?' Xyphos lowered her eyes. 

            'He's not doing too well.'

            'What d'you mean?'

            'He's ill.'

            'Well…considering he does hate the cold he's bound to have the flu or a cold or something.' Xyphos shook her head.

            'It's more than that. I think it's much more serious. Come on.' 

            Arson lay pale-faced in bed, sweating and shivering at the same time. His eyes were closed and he was asleep, but despite this, he carried on trembling. His eyes fluttered open as he heard the door slam and he opened his mouth to call out but no sound came. He could hear the footsteps coming closer into his room. 

            'Arson? Your grandfather's here to see you. Trish is here too,' said a familiar voice. Arson tried to sit up and control his shivering, trying to look a lot better then he felt. However, he collapsed to one side, shaking all the harder. Dante's face looked grave. 

            'You look awful,' he said, in his normal tactless way. Arson gave a wry smile but said nothing. Trish looked at him sympathetically. 

            'I got you a present,' she said, trying to inject cheerfulness into her voice. Arson again smiled. His eyes were becoming dimmer and his face seemed as though his youth was being stolen from him. Xyphos smiled too and took the parcel from Trish and put it on Arson's bedside.  

            'He'll open it later when he's feeling better,' she said quietly. Trish was about to say something else but then grew quiet as she saw that Arson was asleep. Dante looked grimfaced. 

            'I think you were right,' he said quietly to Xyphos. 'It's not just the cold that's doing it. It's something else. But I'm not sure what…' Trish suddenly frowned. 

            'His signal's becoming fainter.' Seeing the distress on Xyphos' face she quickly carried on. 'Not as if he's dying or anything. It's like he's being pulled somewhere else.' Dante suddenly looked knowing. 

            'I see…' Trish looked at him curiously. 

            'What is it? Do you know something?'

            'Yeah. I became like this once. It was the day before Force Edge was handed down to me.' Trish frowned. 

            'What do you mean?'

            'And why's he like this?'

            'It's all a part of a test. I can't explain it right now. It's difficult. Anyway, don't be surprised if you can't find him tomorrow.'

            'What? What d'you mean?' Dante smiled thinly. 

            'Don't worry. It's all a part of the beginning. The beginning of his legacy.'

Disclaimer: Trish and Dante do not belong to me. Xyphos doesn't either. Arson however does. This is the sequel to Darkness Falling and it features a lot more of Arson. So those who hate OCs, don't bother flaming me as this is the point of my story. To show that the legacy of the Sparda's won't end.   


	2. Chapter 1 So it begins

Okay…well I'm still not entirely sure where this is going. I haven't given it too much thought but like the last time, I'll see where I get carried and make what I can out of it. Trish, Dante and Xyphos do not belong to me. The latter belongs to Vampy Sparda, who's story, "Dreams Bathed in Blood" also features the same character, Xyphos. When I told her that I needed another female character, Vampy as more then happy to lend me her character. Thanks a lot.  

Chapter 1 

            The snow had started falling again, and the darkness was beginning to fall. Xyphos watched as the moon rose and surfaced from underneath the clouds, her eyes tear filled. She looked back towards the bed, where Arson lay still. Though Dante had told her that his condition was not something to worry about, she was still scared. Arson was the one she had been able to open up to. She had told him all of her secrets, and things she had never told anyone else. Arson soon became something like her best friend. He always seemed as though he would be there for her. The thought that he wouldn't always be there scared her, and made her feel insecure. 

            Acting on a sudden impulse, she spun on her heel and crossed the room to Arson's bedside. She looked down at Arson before she climbed into bed next to him, hugging him close. Arson opened his eyes and looked at her dazedly. Xyphos smiled sheepishly but then smiled as she felt his arms wrapping around her. She felt safe again. 

            'Arson?'

            '…' Xyphos looked into his face to see that he was watching her, and was listening. She opened her mouth to say something but then shut it. Arson looked at her questioningly as she blushed. 

            'Uh…how are you feeling?' Arson smiled wanly but said nothing. Xyphos ran her fingers gently through his soft hair, smiling at him as his eyes closed drowsily. When she thought he was asleep, she kissed him lightly on the forehead. 'I love you…' she whispered. Arson made no response. Xyphos was glad that he hadn't heard. Though she had often told him, Arson would only smile somewhat shyly. He had never said those three words back to her. But she just _knew _that he felt the same way about her. He just needed time. 

            But it had been a year already, and Arson still hadn't spoken those words she craved to hear. Maybe they had gotten so close that Arson regarded her more like a sister then a girlfriend. But she knew from her past experiences that Arson was better then a brother. Better then her brother anyway.

            She felt sudden unexpected tears start to her eyes. It still pained her even now when tears came. She hated crying. She took it for a sign of weakness. She hated sympathy as well. She was independent, she didn't need any people clucking over her and feeling pity for her. That wasn't her way. But Arson had been a sympathetic listener. How come she hadn't minded when Arson showed her some concern? Because she loved him. That was why. From the first time they had met, from when Xyphos had healed him and felt the warmth of his body against hers, she had started falling in love with him. 

            Was she a fool for that? Was she foolish for having a crush on a guy who seemed so impassive? Surely not. Surely a little bit more time would sort things out. 

            Arson coughed in his sleep and it caused Xyphos to jump at the unexpected sound. She looked into Arson's face and noted again the pale colour of his skin, which was lightly tanned. How she wished those chocolate brown eyes would open, but bright and full of life. Lately, she had seen only pain in those eyes. 

            Xyphos hugged Arson closer, trying to heal him, hoping that Dante was somehow wrong. Nothing seemed to work. Xyphos sighed in despair and then placed her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. How much he was like the brother she had always dreamed of, but yet how different. 

            Again the tears stung her eyes. She blinked them back furiously. Arson no longer cried about his past, did he? Or maybe those were what his nightmares were about. She knew his past, as he knew hers. But whenever she asked about what he had been dreaming, he would just shrug and reassure her that he was fine. Xyphos had the sneaking suspicion that he still carried that fear with him. 

            'Xyphos?' whispered Arson weakly. She raised her head and looked at him. 

            'What is it, Arson? Do you need something?' Arson held her closer to him.

            '…no…' Xyphos rested her head back down on his chest, which was rising and falling steadily. 

            'How are you feeling, Arson? Any better?' Arson struggled to keep his eyes open. 

            'I'm feeling a lot better,' he whispered. Xyphos knew that he was lying but was only doing it because he didn't want her to worry. His eyes were dimmer when she looked into them. She felt his forehead but there was no fever. There hadn't been during his weakened state. 

            'Oh Arson…' she whispered. Arson said nothing but closed his eyes. His whole body relaxed in her arms as he fell into an exhausted sleep. Xyphos knew that he only slept for short bursts. Fifteen minutes at the most. He could only stay awake for five. She gently and slowly, so as not to disturb Arson, got off the bed and drew the curtains. The room was only illuminated by the soft glow of the lamplight. She turned and took a moment to take in Arson's features in the different light.

            He seemed almost angelic. Xyphos giggled to herself. Silly thing to say. He _was _half angel after all. She went back to his side and resumed her place. Before long, the night became cold and she was shivering as she lay on top of the covers. Arson too also felt it and his trembling started anew. Xyphos looked down at him in concern and then came to a decision. 

            She gently peeled back the covers and crawled in beside him, wrapping her arms around her body to keep him warm. Arson woke up just then and looked down at her. Xyphos had closed her eyes and had snuggled up close to him. Arson smiled and then closed his eyes, preparing himself for another journey through the dark corridors of his mind. 

            'Arson?'

            'Yes?'

            'Don't leave me…'

            'Xyphos?' Xyphos kept her eyes closed and stayed close to him, not wanting to meet the expression on his face. 

            'Just please…don't ever leave me.' Arson was wide awake by this time. 

            'I won't.'

            'Promise?'

            'I promise, Xy.' He held her tighter as though trying to prove his point. 'No one's going to leave you alone again.' Xyphos smiled up at him and then smiled. She closed her eyes, finally being able to sleep properly for the first time in days.

            When she woke up, Arson was not by her side. She smiled and got out of bed, thinking that Arson had regained his strength and was back to normal. She called out for him but got no response. A feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach. She started searching the small apartment for him. But he was nowhere to be found. Arson had gone.


	3. Unexpected surprises

Chapter 2 

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            Arson woke up with a jerk, his eyes wide as he looked around his surroundings. He was in a place he did not recognise. A forest. He sat up quickly, noticing suddenly that he was fully healed. He looked down at his clothes, they were completely different. They were not his own. Even worse was the fact that this whole _body_ was not even his own. He began to feel sick.

            'Oh God no…' he groaned. He clapped his hands over his mouth, shocked. His voice…it wasn't his either. Not only that…it wasn't a _guy's_! He or rather _she_ started shaking with terror. Never in her wildest nightmares had _this_ happened. This was beyond her imagination. She swallowed hard and jumped as she heard several voices near her. At least she still had her powers. For that she was grateful. 

            'Ash? Ash where the hell are you?' She frowned. Was her new name _Ash_ now? Was _she_ Ash? Or maybe this was someone _else_ they were searching for? She gulped and looked around nervously. Better keep on the move. 

            Arson slowly and quietly moved out of the clearing, her feet never making a sound. On a sudden thought, she searched her pockets and found that her metal bars were with her. Thankful that there was at least one thing she recognised, she drew them out and unsheathed the blades. She started running as she heard the voices growing closer to her. 

            'Ash? Is that you?' Arson frowned. How could she possibly answer that when she didn't even know _herself_? Where the hell _was_ she anyway? She wanted Xyphos…she wanted someone she knew with her. Arson cursed. Even that sounded wrong now. Now that she was stuck in _this_ body. 

            Arson carried on running until she broke out into another clearing. She swallowed hard, regaining her breath. She looked around the clearing and suddenly tensed as she saw a dark figure in front of her. The face was covered by a hood. She crouched down into what she imagined to be a threatening fighter stance. 

            'Who the hell are _you_?' she hissed. The person uncloaked itself. Dante. Arson's eyes widened. 

            'Dante? What are you-'

            'The Hunter must learn to face the unexpected.' Arson pounced forward, grabbing onto his arm. 

            'Where _am_ I? How did this _happen_?' But Dante would only smile down at her with that famous smirk of his and said no more. Arson was close to tears already. It suddenly occurred to her that this was all some part of a stupid test. 'Please! Answer me! What do I do? Where do I go?'

            'The Hunter must learn to face the unexpected.' Arson stepped away from him. This was all some part of a weird nightmare. It just had to be. She looked around and froze as she heard voices again. 

            'Ashley! For God's sake say _something_!' Arson turned back to Dante only to find that he had gone. Her eyes widened. 

            'Dante? Dante!' There was no answer. Arson was left in a quandary. Should she sit here and wait to be found? She could always try and bluff her way through and make these people, whoever they were believe that indeed she was this Ashley person. Or she could go and look for Dante and try and force some advice from him. She decided to wait. 

            It didn't take much longer for them to find her. She was sitting down meekly, almost on the verge of tears. Two guys and a girl _(Ha ha…no references to the TV show) _emerged and apparently seemed to be relieved to see her. Arson looked at them in bewilderment before something inside her snapped. Tears trickled down her face. 

            'Ash?' the other girl in the group came towards her cautiously. 

            'What?!' she snapped back. The other girl's eyes widened in surprise. 

            'Are you okay?'

            'Do I _look _okay? I feel fucking terrible!' One of the guys raised his hands in defence. 

            'Okay Ash, just calm down.' Arson got up quickly to her feet. 

            'Calm down? _Calm down?_' She paused to try and keep her composure. No point in scaring off what might be her friends. But right now, she felt as if she was going to explode with anger and fear. Fear? Yeah…fear was probably the best word to describe it as. And what had Dante said? The Hunter must learn to face the unexpected. Well this was very unexpected. Thanks a lot, Dante. She was already facing it…Her face suddenly crumpled up as the full force of realisation hit her. 

            'I-I don't know anything…I don't remember anything…I don't know you guys…I don't know anybody here…where am I?' The three looked at each other in shock. Arson looked up at the three of them. 'Please…just tell me this. Where am I?' A sick feeling entered her stomach again but she was beginning to feel an uncontrollable rage fill her heart. Flames began to crackle somewhere in her mind. 

            'Ash!' One of them dashed forward, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders and shaking her. 'Calm down. Don't get angry! You know you can't control it yet!'

            She couldn't? She couldn't control her powers anymore? Again, she felt as if she had just been slapped. She couldn't depend on her powers anymore. This girl, whoever she had been, had never learnt control. But…these people? They knew? Were they all demons? Were they all like her? 

            She started to tremble. The whole world seemed to spin around her eyes. She was _not _going to faint. Just because she was a girl now it didn't give her any excuse to dissolve into tears like that or faint. What was she? A lady from the 12th century or something? A damsel in distress? Okay so she was scared out of her mind and was now a girl, one could say that. But she was _not _from the 12th Century. Hah…yeah right. Speaking of which…

            'What year is it?' Instead of getting an answer, the three stooges looked at each other again, as though they were unable to believe what they were hearing. A stab of pain and then a dull aching feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. She groaned softly and clutched her stomach, cursing inwardly. No wonder why Xyphos yelled at Arson when she had been a guy…

            'Instead of staring at each other like idiots, why don't you answer me?'

            'Ash are you feeling okay?' Arson felt ready to scream at them. She got up unsteadily and made as if to walk off before the dizzy feeling returned. Questions pounded through her head. Where was she? How did she get here? Where was Xyphos? Dante? Trish? What should she do? Was this all a sick game? Did Mundus have anything to do with it? The last thing she heard before she blacked out was her own scream of pure anguish. 

            Xyphos sat at Dante and Trish's table, feeling shaken. She looked up at Dante pleadingly. 

            'You know something…please…where is he?' Dante smiled simply. 

            'He'll be back tomorrow. Just see.'

            '_But where is he?_' 

            'If you must know, he's in a world parallel to ours. Most things are different there. Very different.' Dante shuddered lightly. 

            'What d'you mean?' Dante shook his head and shrugged. 

            'It's what I've heard.'

'Okay then. Tell me this. Why?'

            'Because it's time for Sparda to be passed down to him. But first the sword tests the person and trains him up. He's got a lot to face before he gets back.'

            'But you said-'

            'No matter what happens, he'll be back by tomorrow. Days will pass there but not here. It's all a part of the process.'

            'But this never happened to you, Dante,' said Trish suddenly. Dante frowned. 

            'I know.'

            'So how do you know all this?'

            'The sword has a spirit.'

            'A spirit?' Dante nodded. 

'The reason why I wasn't put through all this was because I was already being tested to my limit. You must admit, being chased down a corridor by a spider made entirely out of lava was pretty unexpected.' Xyphos brought her hands together silently. After a while, she looked up again. 

            'Is there any danger of him-' Dante shook his head. 

            'I don't know,' he said quietly. 'I really don't know.' Xyphos swallowed hard. 

            _Please let him be safe…_

_Okay so that's it for chapter 2. Xyphos belongs to Vampy Sparda, Arson belongs to me and Trish and Dante belong to Capcom. _

_R and R please! Things have only just started for Arson! Aren't I so nasty?_


	4. Who to Trust?

Chapter 3 

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            Arson woke up to find herself in bed. Dante was by her side. 

            'The Hunter must learn to pass judgement.' Arson tried to sit up. Dante looked at her calmly and then stepped away. Arson blinked, slow tears trickling down her face. 

            'Why won't you help me, Dante?' Her voice broke. 'Why won't you help me?' Dante carried on watching her, a calm smile on his face. One of the boys from before walked into the room, appearing not to notice Dante, who was standing at the doorway, his aquamarine eyes settled on Arson. 

            Arson's eyes widened as the boy passed right through Dante, who smiled at her and then winked before stepping back into the shadows. Arson made as if to get up, but a sudden sharp pain in her stomach caused her to wince and shiver. Not for the first time, she felt completely alone, and without a friend. Under normal circumstances, Arson would have sprung into action and would have used his brain to work out a way to get back. 

            But it was not so. Arson was not a he anymore. The fact that his body had been altered to such an extent forced her into tears. She drew her knees up to her chest and started weeping, her long brown hair covering her face as she wrapped her arms around her knees.

            The boy looked at her sympathetically and then sat down beside her on the bed. To his utter surprise, she flinched and wriggled away and continued to cry. 

            'Get away from me,' she sobbed. 

            'Ash…' The boy stopped. He had no idea what to say to calm her tears. Hell, he didn't even know why she was crying. All he knew was that he had never seen her cry before. This was the first time, and it struck a chord in his heart. 'Hey calm down. Just look at me for a minute.' Arson carried right on crying, ignoring him completely. The boy touched her gently on the shoulder. Big mistake.

            Arson gave vent to a muffled scream and quickly grabbed his wrist, twisting it painfully into an arm-hold, stretching the limb until the guy felt excruciating pain. He gritted his teeth and tried to move his arm, anything to try and relieve his pain. He couldn't help but be impressed. Ash had never shown such strength before. In fact, she was terrified of violence and was even more so scared of what she might be able to do. He gasped with shock as Arson released his arm. He spun around, facing the smaller figure.

            'Why the hell did you do that, Ash?' Arson looked at him coldly and seemed to shrink into herself and backed away into the wall.

            'I said stay away from me!' she screamed. She was about to fly at him with a punch but was grabbed roughly and thrown down on the bed. She spun around onto her back and got up again, shaking with rage. 

            'Ask just calm down and listen to me, okay?'

            'I'm not Ash! I'm not who you think I am!' she cried. The guy's red-rimmed eyes widened in confusion. Red-rimmed? Arson lowered her guard and stared at the boy in front of her in shock. Rayne?  She swallowed hard, and sat down heavily on the ground. He sat down beside her carefully and then frowned. 

            'Who are you then?' Arson studied the features of the boy, almost hopefully. 

            'Rayne?' He nodded, his eyes serious. Arson blinked back more tears, the relief on her face obvious. 

            'Thank God! Someone who knows me!' she cried happily. Rayne looked completely confused. 

            'Ash we've known you all our lives. What the hell are you talking about?' Arson shook her head. 

            'I'm not Ash.'

            'Who are you then?'

            'My name is…' Arson stopped. What the hell was he doing? What if there was _another _Arson in this godforsaken place? 'Ash…' she finished lamely. She lowered her eyes and then looked up at Rayne after a few minutes of fidgeting and ringing her hands nervously. Rayne looked at her curiously. 

            'Are you alright, Ash? I mean, you still look pale.'

            'Can you tell me a joke?' Rayne looked nonplussed at the random question. Ash was looking at him expectantly, wanting a joke. 

            'I'm…not much of a joker,' said Rayne at last. Ash's face fell. She looked distraught. She got up and turned away from him, looking out of the window, a silent tear trickling down her face. _Everything was so different. Everything was so wrong. Rayne was here but he wasn't. Where the hell was she? _

            'Ash?'

            'Just leave me alone.'

            'I can't do that. You've been knocked out for five days already. That's almost a week that you haven't eaten anything. You've got to come down at have something.' 

            'What do you care?' she said rudely. She shuddered and carried on looking listlessly out of the window, not really seeing what was out there. A lump was forming in her throat, and she was fighting back tears again. 

            'Look, you're my friend, damn it! And I'm not gonna stand around and let you starve yourself to death!' Rayne grabbed her by the wrist roughly, half expecting to be thrown to the ground. He was still stunned that Ash had attacked him, even if it was in self defence. Surprisingly, Ash made no move and allowed herself to be dragged downstairs, still wearing a pair of tattered jeans and a muddied top. 

            She kept her eyes lowered as the other two from before got up and rushed towards her, asking her random pointless questions. Was she okay? Was she feeling better? As she still tired? Was she hungry? Thirsty? Maybe she wanted to take a seat? The questions made her feel crowded. All she wanted to do at that point was scream and set something on fire. Maybe she _could _regain self control if she just tried hard enough and went through all the training that her male equivalent had passed through, she would be able to use her powers again. 

            She looked up, feeling a sudden new determination. She flinched as she saw another familiar face watching her. It was…_him! _Ash automatically lowered her eyes as Arson smiled at her encouragingly. 

            'Excuse me,' she murmured. She quickly turned away from them and walked off, going somewhere, anywhere, just as long as she was away from other people. She needed to train. She needed to regain control. Maybe then she'd be able to have a degree of sanity in this crazy place. 

            The other three looked at each other. Rayne and his girlfriend continued to speculate on what was wrong with their friend. Arson however, narrowed his eyes, his fertile brain already working. He smiled at the other two and then walked off. 

            'Hey! Where are you going?'

            'I just need to check on something,' said Arson calmly. He saw Rayne nod out of the corner of his eye while his girlfriend continued to look slightly worried. Rayne. He needed to lighten up and stop treating things so seriously. He smiled a little to himself as he tracked down Ash. Maybe it was right that Rayne was so serious. He was a leader born and bred. A lot of the things he said made perfect sense. 

            Arson had already figured out that something was very very wrong with Ash. For one thing, her aura was different but yet the same. Different from what it used to be, but now it was the same as his own. This led to some questions. Had something happened to her when they had been attacked? 

            He paused, thinking of recent developments. The demon invasion was getting more and more fierce. It was becoming increasingly harder to fend off the demons they came across. No matter how hard Arson tried to train, they always seemed to be able to overpower him and he had been forced several times to retreat. Among fifty demon hunters, he and Rayne were the best. He usually took control of the demons that attacked during the day and Rayne took care of those that moved in the night. 

            However, for once when they were off duty, they had all decided to go to the nearby forest to get away from the duties piled upon them and relax. But then they had been attacked. Ash had run from the rest of the group in her bid for freedom. Maybe something had happened to her during that time? _She is or rather was part human. Just a researcher who tried to help us find the weak-spots of the demons and tried to construct some kind of battle-plan._

He sighed. If Ash ended up being too unstable to carry on her work, they would have lost a valuable member of their team. The threat of demons was growing stronger and stronger and the hunters had been called upon to try and protect the sprawling village of Kilayan. 

            The scent was becoming stronger. Arson quickened his pace to see that Ash was outside, near a pond of water, staring across the surface listlessly. Arson sat down quietly next to her, keeping a distance away from her so then she wouldn't notice her presence. Looked like his plan had gone to waste. 

            'I know you're there, Arson.' Arson smiled wryly. 

            'So you remember me, huh?'

            _Of course I know you. I am _you. I know everything about you. Because you're me. I know your fear of the water. Because I know that fear myself. _Arson looked at the girl curiously, waiting for an answer. When he saw that there was none forthcoming, he cleared his throat. She looked at him at that point. _

            'Don't ask me questions and I'll tell you no lies.' Arson grinned again at the girl's remark. 

            'That's not like you. You're not usually this secretive.'

            _I am now. I've got to be. _

'I wish you'd tell us all what's wrong. So then we could help.'

            _No one can help me now. I've got to do this on my own. But what was it that Dante said? I've got to be able to see people and judge them. I've got to learn who to trust and who not to…he makes it sound like a test. Like a lesson. But can I trust you? You may have my face but you might not have my values. You might be nothing like me._

Arson noticed that Ash was watching him cautiously, almost as though she wanted to say something. He knew better than to push her into it. Instead he looked over the lake's surface, as the sun's rays played upon the water as it rippled slightly with the breeze. He needed to say something that would calm her down. Anything at all. But nothing would come. At length, he lied down, allowing the sun to play over his face. 

            'You're scared of it, aren't you?' said Ash suddenly. Arson sat up quickly. 

            'What?'

            'I'm scared of it too.'

            'What is it? What are you scared of?'

            'The water.' 

            'You and me both have a reason to be. You and I both control fire.'

            'No. You can do something else. You just don't use it often.' Arson narrowed his eyes. 

            'What are you talking about?'

            'Watch.' Ash closed her eyes and frowned slightly. A bench that was nearby gave an involuntary shudder and then lifted clear of the ground. Ash kept right on going. The bench rose further, the old wood creaking and groaning under the rough treatment. A headache was beginning to settle in but Ash carried on. She had to show Arson that she knew all about him. That was the only way she would be able to prove that she _was Arson. She was _him_. Arson and Ash __were one and the same. She knew this but she had to show him. She gasped in surprise as she felt Arson's hand curl around her wrist. _

            'That's enough, Ash.' She opened her eyes, the headache pounding against her eyes, blocking everything out. Eventually, it died down and she looked at Arson piercingly. 

            'Don't you get it?' Arson looked at her cautiously. 

            'Ash?'

            'I'm not Ash, Arson. Maybe at one time I was called Ash. But I'm not anymore.'

            'What are you talking about?' She saw that he didn't understand. She could see only too plainly his confusion. She closed her eyes and turned away from him, not wanting to see the expression on his face. 

            'How old are you now?'

            'Eighteen. But you know that!'

            'Listen to me, Arson. Just listen. Thirteen years ago, when you were five, your father, Kryder left you, your sister and your mother to go on a journey. He had told your mother, Ophelia his reasons for going on this trip, but she refused to believe him. Instead she believed her own version, that your father had left her. Shortly afterwards, when in the throes of a nightmare, you accidentally set the house on fire due to your powers. Due to _my_ powers. 

            'She understood that you were more of a demon then an angel. She felt as though she had been tainted by bad blood. The blood of a demon. She called you a curse, blaming you for everything that went wrong. Soon, she reduced you to nothing more then a slave. 

            'You never were able to feel a mother's love. She beat you needlessly, she made you work and do chores that no child should do. Hell, she even made you torture yourself, Arson. Remember the incident in the bath? How she filled it up with freezing cold water? And how she told you to get in? You refused. _I_ refused. When she saw this, she threatened to kill you. You nearly died that day. _I nearly died that day._

            'It didn't stop there. Afterwards, I was on the verge of dying, and she wouldn't take care of me. She ignored me completely. But at the end, she tried to get rid of me for good. The knife…' Ash's voice died out here and she shuddered as she remembered. It waved in front of her still, it pierced her even now. Filled her with all those memories. God, she was crying, _again_! She tried to keep her voice steady as she continued. 'You never told anyone. You never told your friends. The only people who knew the hell you'd been put through was your sister, grandfather and his business partner. Your friends still don't know. I know that none of _my friends do. Except one…_

            'Ophelia-'

            'Stop it! That's enough!' yelled Arson. Ash was silent. She didn't turn to see Arson's face. She knew the look. His eyes would be wide and tear-filled. She had never meant to put him through so much pain but yet she had been forced to put them _both through the old agonising memories. _

            'Don't you see, Arson?' she whispered. 'Don't you understand what I'm trying to tell you?' She swallowed hard and turned around. Arson gaped at her, a look of fear and rage on his face. 

            'H-how d'you know all of this?'

            '…'

            'You mean to say…that you're _me?' Ash nodded silently. Arson sat down heavily, staring at her. At last his eyes narrowed. 'I think you'd better tell me what's going on. How did this happen? Why are you here?'_

            Ash smiled with relief. Finally, she had someone who would help her.

Confusing, isn't it? Two Arsons in the same place. One is female and the other is male. Chaos is bound to follow. R and R please.

_Arson and Rayne and now "Ash" belong to me as well as Ophelia and Kryder. Dante and Trish belong to Capcom and them only. Xyphos belongs to Vampy Sparda. I need some feedback for this, so any help would be welcome._


	5. Complications

Chapter 4 

****

            A cold breeze blew past them both, tossing Ash's long dark brown hair over her shoulders. Arson looked at her as though he were in shock. 

            'You're from a parallel world?' This thought had never occurred to Ash but now that this idea had presented itself to her, she was forced to agree. She nodded. 

            'Some things stayed the same though. Like your powers. Your past.'

            '…' Arson said nothing but only frowned, as though unsure of her. Ash looked at him uncertainly. So Arson didn't believe her fully yet. What else did she have to do to make him trust her?

            'Why don't you believe me?'

            'How do you know all of this? You could have very well met someone who knew.'

            'But you didn't tell anyone. Neither did I, apart from those who already knew.'

            'You could have hacked into the mainframe computer that stores information about the people here, and the Hunters here, and information on how to defeat the demons that are invading.'

            'There's a mainframe here? Demons? They're invading? What?'

            'Ash, stop fooling around! I _know_ you know. Will you stop messing around with me like this?' She frowned, tears in her eyes. A closed expression settled on her face, like a dark cloud. 

            'You don't believe me at all, do you?' Arson shook his head. 

            'No.'

            'Then what do you want to know?'

            'I want to know how you know about my past.' Ash looked at him in bewilderment. Hadn't she just said how she knew? Arson kept staring at her steadily, expecting an answer. But how could she give it? At last, she had an idea. She dug around in her pockets and drew out the twin metal bars. She looked at them once and then concentrated. The blades sprung out at her unspoken command, flames swirling around the red tainted metal. She threw them down at his feet. 

            'Look. Just look at them. Don't you recognise them?' Arson bent down and gently took them in his hands. They were very similar to his own swords. He looked at her, and saw that she was glaring at him. 

            'And what about my aura? It's the same as yours.' That was true. Before Ash had been half demon, half human. But now…she was a part of two opposite races. Just like him. And something inside him was telling him that he could trust this girl, in spite of the strange story. But how could he be sure? His instincts had never failed him yet, but this time, his brain was also taking some part in the decision. He looked from the swords to the girl's face and then back to the swords. 

'There's still one thing I'm unsure about. I never met my grandfather.'

            'What?' Well this was certainly different. That wasn't supposed to happen. Her grandfather had been the one who had saved her from her miserable childhood. But now Arson was telling her this. 

            'I don't know who my grandfather is.'

            'But…didn't you get saved from all that?'

            'No.'

            'Val? What happened to her?'

            'Died. She wasn't strong enough to handle it when Ophelia, my mother turned on her as well.' Ash looked as though she had just been slapped on the face. Val? Dead? His sister was gone? She closed her eyes, a prickling sensation playing at them. Arson grabbed her roughly, her eyes flying open with outrage and his eyes stared into her own. 

            'Who's my grandfather?' he yelled. She flinched and tried to look away. Her eyes showed only too plainly her own confusion and shock. Arson let her go and rolled his eyes. 

            'Val's…'

            'Dead. She's dead. You might as well get used to it.' Ash blinked hard and then looked at Arson. 

            'Your grandfather…his name is Dante. Dante Sparda.' Arson looked at her in shock. 

            'What?'

            'The Legendary Dark Knight Dante. He's your grandfather. He's _our _grandfather. Arson looked shocked. His mouth opened to say something but then he quickly shut it again when he realised no words were coming. Ash glared at him one last time before picking herself off the ground and then turning so then her back was faced towards him. 

            'Hey…wait.' Ash marched off, anger fuelling her body. 'Ash wait!'

            'God damn it! I'm not Ash!' she screeched, turning around. 'Why don't you believe me? Why can't you? Will everyone here just leave me alone?' Ash suddenly disappeared in a cloud of spiralling white smoke. Arson's eyes widened. So she _was_ telling the truth. He grew tense as he heard someone behind him. 

            'What happened?'

            'Nothing, Rayne.'

            'Where's she gone?' Arson raised his eyebrows and grinned.      

            'PMS…' he chuckled. 'Unfortunately, I found out the hard way! Man, you talk to some girl who's stressed out and you get your head bitten off. Never again.' Rayne frowned at him. 

            'That's not true.'

            'Seems to be for me. Or maybe it's just my luck?' Rayne shook his head in exasperation. Arson could be extremely annoying when he wanted to be. His face lighted up as he saw Minako, his girlfriend running up to him. 

            'Hey Rayne! Where's Ash gone?'

            'Yeah you didn't answer my question. Arson. Where's she gone?' Arson shrugged. 

            'Somewhere I guess. Just leave her alone for now. She's in one hell of a bad mood.' He turned and walked off. Minako blinked up at Rayne. 

            'Why is everyone always walking away today? First Ash goes all weird and then Arson walks off, and then Ash disappears and then Arson walks off, again! What the hell is going on?' Rayne paused to think about this and then frowned. 

            'Seems like Ash is becoming more and more like Arson,' he murmured. Minako didn't see the expression on his face but her face grew serious. 

            'Oh God I hope not!' Rayne chuckled at her remark but then grew silent as Minako carried on. 'Do you think Arson told her? About how he feels?' Rayne narrowed his eyes. 

            'It's…possible…' 

            'Ash should really try and figure it out though. Arson's constantly following her around and giving her compliments and everything! What does she say? Nothing.'

            'Well who says she's got to like him?'

            '…'

            '…' The two were silent. The sun was beginning to set in the horizon. 

            'Are you on duty tonight, Rayne?' A small nod. Minako sighed.             

            'Damn this invasion!' she yelled fiercely. Rayne sighed and held her close. 'We barely get to spend any time with each other. In the day, you're usually asleep and at night, you're always on duty. It's not fair!' Rayne felt Minako shudder lightly in his arms as the cold began to settle in with the night. 

            'Come on…let's head back.'

            Ash was still fuming when she found herself in the forest from before. She growled and muttered dire curses to no one in particular. It seemed as though this parallel Arson was a jerk. Ash this, Ash that, Ash Ash Ash! Well to hell with it! She had explained as best as she could that he was actually a guy. Arson had laughed at that. She had tried so hard to get her point that they were one and the same across, and her words had fallen on deaf ears. She had chosen the wrong person. Maybe she shouldn't have told anyone?

            But then there would be more questions. Why has your aura changed, Ash? What the hell happened back there, Ash? How come you suddenly know how to use your powers? Questions questions questions…

            She paused and felt for her blades and cursed as she realised that they were still with that jerk. Nevertheless, she carried on stomping through the forest. She'd be damned if she was going to ask him to give her swords back. She had her pride! Though she was now a girl she still had her pride. That was something at least. 

            She tensed again and realised only then how loudly and carelessly she had been walking. Well so what? She could very well take care of herself. She was more than a match for anything that may be unlucky enough to come in her way. But yet, the bushes from behind and in front of her were shaking violently. Not that it mattered to her. Carry on shaking, then jump out and then die. Her vengeance, her anger, everything, would be vented out on them all. 

            Ash flinched but then got ready as there was a sudden ear splitting screech. Frosts. Woo…big deal. She gave vent to a battle cry and launched herself at them, eager for some action. Eager for anything that seemed familiar, recognisable. At least they hadn't changed. At least this factor of life had stayed the same. This was what she knew. This was what she loved. 

            She hadn't reckoned on being hit from behind. She hadn't thought that she would be facing more then eight of them. She felt tired as she tried to focus on them one at a time. She then understood that she had no other choice but to utilise the uncontrollable. Darkness clouded her vision, flames began to crackle merrily as she allowed them to unleash. Her breathing grew erratic as the transformation began. Her brown eyes turned to red and then black, the sign that she was about to wreak havoc. She felt the power building up inside her, boiling inside her, clamouring to be let out. 

            They said that she couldn't control it. But yet she could control it fine. Or maybe this was due to her old knowledge. The training she had done before this ghastly change had been wrought upon her. The Frosts didn't seem perturbed by this new creature that stood before them, jet black hair fanning out behind her, dead black eyes staring out at them coldly. The demons carried on running towards her, eager only for bloodshed, the ripping of flesh, the promise of a kill. But she was one of them now. She wanted it all as bad as they.

            She leapt into the battle, giving vent to a shrill war cry. Flames danced and leapt about her as she dealt out her punishment. The flames crackled around her body, mingling with the eerie cackle as she allowed her dark side to take over. Who needed friends? Who needed anyone? She had this power. This was surely all she needed. 

            The Frosts soon realised their fatal mistake. They tried to retreat but it was too late for them. The darkness had been unleashed. They shrieked and screamed as they were slowly, painfully devoured by her fury.

            It was then that she allowed herself to settle back and watch sadistically as they tried to beat helplessly at their scales using their claws. She allowed the flames to stop their frantic song and relaxed by sitting down, her breathing normal, crossing her legs and watching serenely as the victims slowly died and grew still. She smiled thinly as she watched her power engulf her enemies. She could depend on herself. She was certain of it. 

            'You may think that now but what about later?' Ash jumped to her feet, ready to allow her powers to take over. Again, the aquamarine eyes stared into her own. 'You have another chance to make a wise decision. Learn from this. You can't always trust yourself. You are not who you think you are.' Ash looked at him, stunned that he had said so much at a single time. 

            'What do you mean?'

            'You are more narrow minded then you care to think. Make another choice. And then your test will move on.' Ash watched him disappear into the shadows. As if on cue, Rayne came bounding out of the darkness and into the open clearing that she was sitting in. His face blanched as he smelt the burnt grass and the charred bones. Ash looked at him impassively but then lowered her eyes and looked away. 

            'You did this, didn't you?' Ash nodded silently. Rayne blinked. 'You've learnt how to control it?' Ash nodded again. Rayne raised his eyebrows. 'Wow…' he said flatly. Ash looked at him at that point and then smiled. It seemed to soften up her whole face. 

            'I'd like to help.'

            'Ash? You have helped. You're the reason why we've been able to deal with everything that's tried to invade.'

            'No. I mean I want to fight with you.' 

            'But you hate violence!'

            'No.' Ash looked away and then started walking away, wondering whether Rayne could be trusted. 

            'There's something different about you, Ash.' Said Rayne. Ash stopped. _He knows…_ 'Do you want to talk at all?' Ash looked at him from over her shoulder, trying to assess the situation. She could just make a run for it. But what was the point of that? Wouldn't that be failing the test? She cursed in her mind but then flinched as Rayne came closer.

            'I know for certain that you're not Ash. You might have her face, but you're someone else aren't you?' 

            _How the hell does he know? Rayne isn't meant to be this smart. _Rayne's eyes met and held with her own. She blinked and then tried to look away again. 

            'Get away from me,' she said in a low voice.

            'I know you're not Ash because of your aura, your behaviour, everything. Hell, I mean, you're just different.'

            'You're right,' she said dully without even knowing what she was saying. 'You're right…I'm not Ash.' She suddenly felt drained and tired. She just wanted to lie down and curl up and die. 

            'Who are you?'  Rayne was staring at her steadily, waiting for her answer. 

            'I'm…Arson.' Rayne's eyes widened and then he broke out into laughter. 

            'That's lame. Now come on, who are you really?' Ash looked at Rayne wearily and shook her head. 

            'I told you the truth. I'm Arson. That's my name.' Ash then tried to explain to him as best as possible what had happened. Rayne asked no questions but only listened quietly as Ash told him what had happened. His red rimmed eyes bore into her, forcing her to tell him stuff that she hadn't told other people. Like his past and about Xyphos. At last, she finished. Rayne nodded once. 

            'You haven't told Arson have you?'

            'Yes.' Rayne looked dismayed. 

            'What did he say?'

            'He didn't believe me. I won't be surprised if you don't either.' She noted the look on Rayne's face. 'Have I done something wrong?'

            'Well…the thing is Arson loved Ashley. He just never told her.' Ash's eyes widened and then her face grew pale. More complications? Just what she needed. She laughed humourlessly. 

            'Don't tell me you expect me to try and pretend I'm this girl?'

            'That's exactly what I ask.' Ash had no idea what happened next. When she looked back on it, she guessed that she had fainted.

_Any characters not mentioned by either game belong to me with the exception of Vampy Sparda. Thanks a lot to Chasm, Vampy and Sakura Lee for reviewing this rather twisted tale. _ 


	6. Attack!

Chapter 5 

Ash shivered as she slowly opened her eyes. She blinked once, trying to clear her vision and then sat up. 

'Wait…just rest.' Ash lay back down obediently. She felt so cold. She snuggled down under the covers and closed her eyes, allowing the warmth of the sheets to seep into her body. She opened her eyes again and saw that Rayne was by her side. 

'You told me that you were Arson.' Ash nodded sleepily. 'I asked you to do me a favour. You passed out.' Ash groaned inwardly. Again? Rayne looked down at her sternly but then tensed. Ash tried to sit up as she felt another taint coming their way. 

Arson strode into the room, his brown hair flopping awkwardly in his eyes. He brushed it out but then it only fell back into place again. He smiled at Rayne and then Ash. 

            'How are you feeling?' Ash looked at him carefully, wondering whether he was being genuine or whether she was going to be put through another test. She cleared her throat. 

            'Fine,' she said evenly. Arson looked at her calmly, causing her to look away, blushing. All of a sudden, she felt even colder. She wished Arson would stop looking at her like that. If he kept it up much longer, she would be forced to take some drastic action. Like trying to chop him to shreds with her swords. She had never thought that she had been so annoying and creepy. But had she really been like that? It boggled the mind.

            'Rayne told me that you were complaining of a head ache before,' said Arson smoothly, his voice sounding calm and almost velvety. It made her shiver as she remembered what Rayne had told her. Arson was in love…with _her_. It was enough to make her feel sick. Somehow, something ironically funny sprang to mind. Arson was actually in love with himself at the moment. How strange fate was at times. 

            'I hope you feel a lot better now though.' Ash nodded tightly, trying to keep her face as neutral as possible. Rayne glared at her from behind Arson's shoulder. Ash tried a smile and tried to push some confidence into her voice. 

            'I'm feeling a lot better. Just tired,' she said. Her voice shook when she spoke. Arson frowned slightly but then his face cleared. He nodded once and turned, walking out of the room. Ash breathed a sigh of relief when he was out of ear shot. She then glared at Rayne. 

            'A head ache, huh?' Rayne nodded somewhat sheepishly. 

            'Well…you should have seen his face. He looked as though he had just been slapped over the head with a brick.' Ash sighed and looked down at her hands. She felt a solid weight fall against her chest. She felt her neck and felt the chain that hung around it still. 

            'My amulet…' she whispered. She drew it out from underneath her clothes and studied it. Strange how it seemed to shine so brightly when the world seemed so dark to her eyes. Rayne looked at it curiously. 

            'Arson wears that too.' Ash nodded. 

            'I know.'

            'So you really were telling the truth, weren't you?'

            'You didn't believe me either?'

            'Not at first.'

            'I see.' Again the two were silent, each thinking their own thoughts. Ash at last looked up and at Rayne. 'If I have to do this then I might as well do it properly. What was Ash like?'

            Rayne scratched his head as he tried to think about this question. At last, his face brightened. 

            'Ash was very talkative around her friends. But when she was around Arson she seemed to turn cold and shrink away from everyone. She hated violence. She preferred to work on the computers instead and do research on the demons that appeared.'

            'How long have I…I mean Arson known her for?'

            'Roughly six months.'

            'I see.' More silence. 

            'She was pretty vain actually. And arrogant. She was pretty condescending most of the time when she wanted to be, especially towards Arson.'

            'Sounds like this Ash person was a bit of a bitch.' Rayne smiled thinly. 

            'Sounds like you think the same as the rest of us. But he won't listen.' 

            'Am I really that dumb?' Rayne looked about to answer but then thought better of it. He turned as he felt someone coming. 

            'Minako,' he called. Ash blinked and frowned. Suddenly, a girl appeared from the wall. Minako smiled at Rayne. 

            'So you're awake huh?' Rayne grinned. 

            'For once.' Minako's eyes switched to Ash. 

            'How are you feeling, hon?' Ash nodded slowly and tried to smile again. 

            'A lot better, thank you.' Ash stopped talking quickly. She still hadn't grown used to the sound of her own voice. Minako grinned at her. 

            'How about you come shopping with me then? We can go to the store you like!' Ash looked at Rayne desperately for help but he had lowered his eyes, refusing to meet her face. Minako saw the look she was giving him and frowned. 

            'Ash?'

            'Um…uh…okay?' Ash's voice was shaking again. Minako looked at her suspiciously. 

            'Are you sure you're okay?'

            'Certain.'

            'You seem a little quiet.'

            'Uh…'

            'She had a heavy hit on the head,' cut in Rayne quickly. 'Frosts attacked her,' he said. Minako's eyes widened. 

            'Frosts? Are you okay? Are you hurt?' Ash shook her head, trying to look as calm as possible when in fact she wanted to curl up and disappear. 

            'There's no need to worry,' she whispered, lowering her eyes. Rayne motioned to a chair nearby. 

'There's fresh clothes there that you can wear.' Rayne turned and smiled at Minako tenderly and led her out of the room. Minako was bursting with curiosity about what had happened to Ash. 

            'Like I said,' Rayne explained. 'She got hit on the head and is a little different ever since. Just be patient with her. I think it would be a good idea if you gave her a tour of the village again.' Minako grinned. 

            'No problem! You know what I like the most about helping out this place?'

            'No…what?'

            'The discounts!' Rayne chuckled gently, winding his arms around her waist. 'But…I barely get to see you,' she added as an afterthought. Rayne was quiet for a while. 'In the day you sleep…I know it hurts to be around when there's light everywhere…but sometimes I just wish…I wish that…'

            'That I wasn't part vampire?' Minako was silenced. Rayne sighed miserably. 'You're not the only one who wishes for the same thing.' They both turned as the door clicked open, revealing a blushing Ash. She kept her eyes lowered as she came towards them in a white sleeveless top and a denim skirt, trying to pull it down as she advanced. 

            'I feel like an idiot,' she growled. Minako raised her eyebrows and looked at Rayne in surprise. Rayne shrugged, as if he didn't know what Ash meant by that. Minako grinned at Ash. 

            'Don't be dumb! You look great!' Ash only blinked and lowered her eyes. She took another step forwards before falling on the heels she was wearing.

            'I'll never get used to this!' she wailed, momentarily forgetting herself. She turned crimson as she heard someone chuckle softly further up the corridor. She took in the familiar faded brown hood that hung over Dante's face. 

            'The Hunter must often do the things he wishes not to,' he said. Ash picked herself off the floor and kicked off her heels without thinking. She had no time to waste trying to run in shoes that impeded her speed. 

            'Dante, wait!' Rayne and Minako turned to see who Ash was calling for. They could see no one. But Ash was running past them, down the corridor. 'Dante!' Ash turned to the left, down a dark passage. Her heart lifted slightly as she saw the hood. But then the spirit raised his head, dark red eyes peering out at her. Ash slid to a halt. 

            'You still call me Dante…but yet I am not he who you name.' Without another word, the spirit dissolved away into nothingness. Ash frowned and backed out of the corridor and straight into someone's arms. 

            'Ash?'  

            'I'm fine!' she squealed. 'Just leave me alone!' She turned and twisted. Arson let her go and looked at her with a strange expression on his face. Pity? Worry? Ash lowered her eyes, blinking furiously. 'I'm sorry.' Arson shook his head and smiled. 

            'Think nothing of it. Um…' Ash looked up at him and noticed suddenly the slight tinge of red his face had become. He was blushing. 'Are you really feeling okay?'

            'I'm fine,' asserted Ash. Arson suddenly looked at her with a new look on his face. Anticipation? Hope? Hope…

            'I was wondering…if you didn't mind…uh…would you like to-'

            'Hey Ash!' Ash tore her eyes away from the floundering Arson, grinning. 'What happened?'

            'I just thought I saw someone I knew.' She glared at Rayne, warning him not to say anymore. 

            'Oh…' he said simply. Arson looked at Rayne and then at Ash, almost suspiciously. He watched the expression on their face carefully, wonderingly. At last he stopped his careful scrutinizing and walked past them both, slowly, majestically. Ash fidgeted and looked at Rayne. Rayne waited until Arson was out of ear shot and grabbed Ash by the shoulders. 

            'What was it? What did you see?' Ash lowered her eyes and shook her head. 'Ash, tell us.'

            'What good will it do? You won't be able to help me. And it wasn't him anyway.'

            'Wasn't who?'

            'Dante.'

            '…Dante?' Ash nodded. 

            'The Legendary Dark Knight Dante. Dante Sparda.' Rayne frowned at her, the legendary name well known to him. 

            'Why would he want to come to you?'

            'Because…he's my grandfather.' Rayne looked at her in shock. 

            'Does Arson know?'

            'I tried to tell him…but I don't think he believes me.'

            'What was he trying to say to you?'

            'I don't know…I didn't find out…but it wasn't him…he told me it's someone else. But who?' Rayne was about to give a reply when alarms went off all around them. Ash flinched and looked around, quickly regaining her calm. 

            'What's happened?'

            'It's an invasion! Demons have broken through! Come on!' Rayne dragged the bare-footed Ash along with him. He dodged to the left and then took another left before taking a right. Ash tried to keep herself from falling. Rayne's strength had taken her by surprise. 

            'Where are we?'

            'In the main control panel. '

            'But shouldn't we try and stop the invasion?'

            'Just wait and see.' Rayne typed in a password on the small display unit that was installed on the left of the door. The door slid open slowly, revealing a huge room filled with computers. Ash looked around in shock, suddenly feeling incredibly small. Minako was already typing away at the computers. She smiled in triumph quite suddenly.          

'There they are!'

            'What are they?' asked Ash. Minako looked at her in shock. 

            'Can't you see from the colour dots?' Ash was about to say something when she suddenly remembered that this was supposed to be her job. Her hands flew to either side of her head, and she hissed as though in pain. Minako looked at her sympathetically. 

            'Oh yeah…I forgot. Sorry, hon.' Ash screwed her eyes shut but then opened them a tiny fraction so then she was watching through her eyelashes. 

            'Three Death Scythes. Just located here.' Minako pointed at the screen but then turned pale. 'Oh no…'

            'What is it?' said Rayne, his normally calm voice suddenly turning grim and harsh with his seriousness. 

            'They're in Arson's room.' Ash didn't seem too perturbed.

            'So?'

            'Arson's in there!'

            'He could just bust out of there couldn't he?'

            'When the alarms sounded all the dormitories were locked. Arson can't get out and we can't get in!' Ash looked at Rayne and Minako in sudden anger. 

            'Is that it? You're giving up on him?'

            'Well in the cramped space, I don't think he's going to stand much of a chance.' Ash looked to Rayne to see that even he was shaking his head. She frowned. 

            'Well you can give up but I'm not going to! I'm out of here!' Rayne looked at her in surprise.

            'Hey wait!' But he was too late. Ash had already disappeared in a wisp of white smoke.   


	7. Ash's Lie

            Stupidly enough, I forgot to put down the disclaimer for the last chapter. Anyway, I'm sure you all know it by now. The only people who belong to me are Rayne, Arson and "Ash". Minako is based on a friend of mine so really, her personality belongs to her, as I am not the type who steals souls…(not that I can anyway). Xyphos belongs to Vampy Sparda. Everyone else belongs to Capcom. 

**Chapter 6**

****

            Minako and Rayne looked at each other in silence as the white smoke disappeared. Minako looked shocked, Rayne watched on in steely silence. At length, he began to walk forwards. 

            'Come on, Minako. I'll need your help.'

            'What are we going to do?'

            'We're going to help Arson and Ash. I'll need you to get into Arson's room and unlock the door.'

            'I'm not sure I can…' Rayne smiled at her at that point. 

            'If anyone can, it's you. Now let's go.'

            Arson yawned as he came out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. His wet hair hung heavily in his eyes. He yawned again and drowsily put his clothes on. Hot showers were nice but when you had to take showers in boiling hot water, it can sometimes cause one to feel sleepy. He yawned once more and flopped down on his bed after he had put on his jeans. He allowed his eyes to close and turned onto his side. 

            Suddenly, a sudden flash of intuition invaded his senses and he got up. All was not well. There was something else with him. He turned quickly, but he could still see nothing. A deep throaty cackle rent the air but there was nothing. Arson knew better than to let down his guard. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, sweeping the shadows in his search for danger. 

            He lunged forwards as he caught a sudden movement out of the corner of his eyes. Ash squealed in surprise as they both fell to the floor, Arson tackling her and attacking her. He quickly stopped as he realised his mistake. 

            'There's something here,' he said quickly. Ash nodded. 

            'Death Scythes.'

            'Death Scythes?! Shit!'

            'We won't be able to fight well in here. We have to leave.' Arson shook his head. 

            'I can't do that.'

            'What?'

            'I can only transport else where in the same room. I'm not that advanced yet.' Ash groaned inwardly. Of course…he didn't know his full capabilities yet because he hadn't been trained by anyone. He had taught himself everything. A sudden thought entered her head. Did that mean that she as possibly stronger than him? The challenge presented itself to her and the idea became more and more appealing. But what was she doing thinking about this? She should be focused on the fight ahead. 

            'You can go if you want, Ash. I'll stay here and fend them off.' Ash shook her head firmly. 

            'And let you get all the fun?' Arson stared at her as though in shock. 'Where are my swords?' Arson mutely handed them to her. A cocky smile played across her face as she readied down into her fighter's stance. Arson did the same after a moment of staring. A flutter of black passed the corner of Ash's eyes. Her smile broadened as she lunged into battle. 

            'Ash be careful!' yelled Arson. He ran towards her and pushed her behind him. He was about to attack when he saw her figure fly through the air, shattering the Death Scythe's mask with a well aimed hit with the hilt of one of her swords. She landed cat like on all fours but then quickly righted herself. Arson had located the second Death Scythe, no longer worried about Ash's safety. It was obvious that she could look after herself. 

            He slashed at its mask wildly but it seemed as though he was making no difference to it. He gasped as shockwaves ran through his swords and up his arms as he struck the wall heavily. He cursed. It had disappeared through the wall. Only God knew where it would reappear next. He cast about wildly, searching for the shimmering black illusions that made up the ragged clothing of the Scythes. 

            He could see nothing. He cursed and turned again so then he was looking at Ash. Ash was dealing with another Scythe, almost as though she was bored of the fight, as though she wasn't even being challenged. 

            _She isn't being challenged though. She knows only too well what she's doing. _Ash was finally rewarded with the sound of shattering glass and stepped backwards. Arson's eyes widened as he saw the last Scythe appear from the floor directly behind Ash, swinging its weapon. 

            'Ash watch out!' Ash turned towards him but promptly gasped shallowly in pain as steel cut through her skin. She backed off, her back against the wall, one arm to her side. It began to heal immediately. She quickly took her hand away from her side and tightened her grip on the hilts of her swords. 

            'Idiot,' she growled. She rushed forward but then the Scythe suddenly disappeared yet again. 

            'Shit!' yelled Arson. Their eyes swept the shadows, searching. But there was nothing, only the harsh cackling cry that haunted them still. Ash suddenly screamed in pain and collapsed against Arson. Arson caught her and steadied her only to find that blood was welling out of her body at an alarming rate. The Scythe gave vent to another chuckle as the Scythe returned to its hand. Arson suddenly understood what had happened. It had appeared behind Ash but she had failed to sense it. Not only that but when it had thrown its Scythe at her, she had been too close for it to possibly miss. 

            He growled as he saw Ash's blood leaking out onto his hands. She opened her eyes, and they were darkened in pain. Arson felt an unspeakable rage come over him, wresting his senses away from him. His vision was covered in a red mist. Something was pulling him away from his body, he was no longer in control. Wings burst out from either side of his body, black and leathery. His swords grew longer in length and the flames that burnt around them began to swirl fiercely, and more rapidly. 

            Ash heard the shriek of the Scythe and then the tinkling of crystal as its mask broke. She closed her eyes again, fighting back the waves of pain. She tried to concentrate only on healing her body, but the pain would constantly interrupt her meditations. She at last realised that these wounds would not kill her outright, but that she would be unable to heal them. They were too deep and she was losing blood rapidly. She raised her head and forced herself to open her eyes to see a black demon standing in front of her. On the other side, stood the brown figure. Ash blinked slowly and kept watching it uncertainly, thinking that she was hallucinating already. But if she was then she wouldn't think she was would she? 

            'Who are you?' she murmured. The black demon was surrounded by flames, and it gave vent to something like an untamed snarl. The hooded figure sighed. 

            'So you still haven't worked it out? You who is meant to be my relative…' Ash's eyes widened. 

            'Sparda?' But the figure had vanished yet again. The black demon paced restlessly, its breath coming out in low growls. Ash laid still, the pain still exploding through her body. She suddenly became aware of someone else's presence. 

            'What happened? Is she okay? Oh my God!' Minako. She smiled slowly to herself as she heard her reaction to Arson's transformation. But hadn't he said he had known how to control it? But what if he hadn't learnt self control yet? She thought back to all she knew of this Arson. He had never told her whether he could control his powers. She suddenly felt sick as she sensed Minako's worry and fear. 

            'Arson…it's me, Minako!' she heard her cry, her voice shaking. 'Don't you remember me? I'm Rayne's girlfriend, remember?' Ash heard the heavy footsteps of the demon as it advanced upon Minako. Ash slowly sat up, gasping in pain. God, she felt so dizzy. But she had to at least do this much for Rayne. 

            'Arson, stop,' she whispered. Arson turned towards her, the coal black eyes boring into her. He gave vent to another snarl. Ash looked towards Minako wearily and nodded at her, as she saw that she was near the door. Minako understood and carried on trying to break the code of the door, trying to unlock it. 

            Arson appeared not to recognise her. He raised one clawed hand, ready to strike at her. From her position on the floor, Ash could do nothing to protect herself. Sparda's words replayed themselves in her head. 

            'The Hunter must often do the things he wishes not to.' Arson bent down over her, ready to kill her. Ash screwed her eyes shut as she felt his hot breath playing against her face. _Oh God no…Sparda you can't expect me to do this can you? This is just plain cruel! _Ash opened her eyes again, and spoke, her voice shaking with a mixture of anger and repulsion. 

            'Arson, I love you.'

_Short chapter but hey, I'm still a little blocked up. I hate writer's block. It sucks. It sucks it sucks it sucks. (growls)_


	8. Another surprise

Chapter 6 

            Arson seemed to pause for a split second and looked down at Ash, who was still covered in blood, lying helplessly on the floor of his bedroom. Minako swallowed hard and somehow managed to force herself to keep her eyes away from the awesome and yet terrible sight that was Arson's demon form. Arson gave vent to a low snarl. The sound was much softer than before. Ash sensed the demon's uncertainty and tried again, trying to make her voice sound less disgusted with herself and more loving and gentle.

            'Arson, I love you,' she whispered, repeating those three dreaded words again. Arson suddenly snarled again and lunged at her. Ash shrieked, causing Minako to turn violently, just as the doors swung open. Rayne stepped inside quickly and took in the situation at a glance. 

            His face fell as he saw Arson's state. Arson whirled away from Ash at the last moment, his leathery black wings spreading out as he roared out the hate that constantly rose as memories of his past flashed through his vision. He rushed at Rayne, who neatly side stepped, but turned quickly, making sure that he was caught unawares.

            Arson turned swiftly his voice a low growl. Ash shakily got up. Arson looked towards her, his attention diverted by her movement. Minako's eyes hardened. After getting over her initial fear, she now felt ready to act if need be. Arson's eyes locked with Ash, who instead of looking away, mirrored the glare. Rayne felt as though he could cut through the tension with a knife. Something electric seemed to hang in the air, ready to shock anyone who made a false move. 

            Arson shifted restlessly, impatient for action. His leathery wings spread out again, flapped once and twice, and then folded over his back neatly. Rayne glanced sideways at Ash, who stood there not knowing what to do. 

            'Say something to him, Ash. You calmed him down a little.' Ash was feeling dizzier and weaker as she lost more blood. Her body began to sway slightly as blood leaked out of her wounds. Her vision began to swim. 

            'Arson,' she croaked. She fell to her knees shaking her head to show Rayne that she could do no more. This pitiful display on her part seemed to bring Arson back to his senses. The dark red aura that had been previously surrounding him now faded away to nothing. His deadened eyes returned to brown and his skin resumed its normal colour. He rushed to her side, pushing past Rayne and Minako. 

            'Ash!' he yelled. He did not get any reply. He looked around wildly before his eyes settled on Rayne. 'What happened?'

            'She got wounded while fighting,' said Rayne easily. Arson's face seemed to cloud over, but then his face cleared as he remembered the fight between the Death Scythes. 

            'Why didn't she heal?'

            'She had tried to. But their too deep and serious.' Minako looked at them both impatiently as she saw Ash's blood soaking into Arson's clothes.

            'Instead of wasting time, why don't we get her to the infirmary?' Rayne looked sheepish but then nodded, turning and walking out of the room. Arson looked down at Ash wonderingly before slipping his hands underneath her body and lifting her. 

            'Why didn't you guys take her there before?'

            'Because you turned into your demon form and tried to attack us,' said Minako somewhat harshly. Arson looked as if he had just been slapped in the face. 

            'What?'

            'You tried to kill her. But she stopped you.'

            'Stopped me? But how could she stop me in a state like this?' Rayne looked at Minako curiously as she continued. 

            'Because she told you that she loved you.' Arson's eyes widened and all colour drained out of his face. Rayne too looked shocked. He looked at Ash quickly, to find that her eyes were clouding over slowly. She coughed weakly and clung onto Arson. Her eyes were confused and dim. Rayne saw that she didn't know what was going on, and that it was probably that she didn't even know that she was being moved elsewhere. Arson looked down at Ash, blinking, startled. He looked back up at Rayne, his eyes hardening slightly, and he quickened his pace, while trying to make sure he didn't put her through any pain. Ash closed her eyes and allowed her head to sink against his body, too weak to even protest. 

            When she woke up, it was dark. She moved slightly and felt the bandages that had been wrapped around her chest. She moved again and was shocked to find that her top had been taken off her, leaving her only covered by the bandages. She snuggled deeper into the covers, embarrassed before she allowed her eyes to travel around the room, taking in her surroundings. 

            Arson was sitting in a chair near the window, one arm on the window sill, his head resting on it. His other arm dangled off the edge. Ash smiled to herself. He looked as though he was absolutely exhausted. She wondered with a sudden stab of cold fear and dismay whether it had been him who had dressed her wounds. She heard a sudden sound and looked to see that a woman had come into the room, and was coming closer to the side of the bed. 

            'So you're awake now, are you?' Ash blinked at her, and then her face lighted up as she recognised her. 

            'Trish!' she smiled with joy but then grew pale as Trish's face suddenly changed into someone else's. Xyphos. 

            'You've done well so far. But you have a lot more to go.'

            'W-what d'you mean? Xyphos?'

            'You are the one who will free this village, these people from terror.' Ash said nothing but stared up at Xyphos glassily. Xyphos only smiled down at her serenely before touching the top of her head. 

            'Good luck, Arson,' she whispered. Ash felt tears come to her eyes as she heard her former name being used. She sat up quickly and got out of bed. 

            'Xyphos wait!' she cried. She fell heavily to her knees, her body still too weak to endure violent movement. 

            Ash sat up with a jolt back in bed. A thin layer of sweat lay on her forehead. She shivered and panted but then tensed as she looked around the room again. Everything was still the same. Arson was still asleep. A woman was walking towards her bedside. She tensed and tried to back away from her but then groaned softly as her body protested. It had all been a dream then? Everything had been a bad dream? Her eyes turned towards the woman, who had stopped when she saw that Ash was now fully awake. 

            'I need to see your wounds. I need to check on whether they have started healing yet.' Ash frowned at her but said nothing, scowling at her. The woman forced her to lie back down, simply by pressing her shoulders down gently. Though Ash had tried to fight against it, her body had ached in sharp protest and she had been obliged to give in. 

            'Were you the one who dressed my wounds?' she asked. The woman nodded and found to her relief that this made Ash relax slightly. 

            'Why, were you worried?' Ash nodded without thinking. The woman chuckled slightly but then frowned as she saw the amulet that hung around Ash's neck. She looked at it closely but then turned away from Ash, drawing the curtains around the bed, so then they had their privacy. 

            An hour later, Rayne walked into the infirmary, to see that Ash had fallen back into a deep sleep after having been given some sedatives. Arson was beginning to look troubled as he dreamt. He shifted his position slightly, coming dangerously close to letting his head fall off the window-sill. Rayne quickly shook him into wakefulness before he started getting deeper into his nightmares. Arson woke up with a shout and then looked around dazedly. 

            'Are you okay?' asked Rayne. Arson nodded once before adroitly changing the subject.

            'I'm fine, but do you know anything about Ash?' Rayne looked towards the bed thoughtfully. 

            'She looks as though she's sleeping peacefully enough.' He caught a sudden flash of light from Ash's direction and walked towards her curiously. Arson appeared not to notice and rested his head back on the arm that lay on the window-sill still. Rayne looked towards him swiftly before gently slipping Ash's amulet under the covers. Ash stirred slightly but did not wake. Rayne dragged the covers closer to her chin and then stepped away.

            'It's always the same…' said Arson suddenly.

            'Your dreams?'

            'Not dreams. Nightmares. And yes, they're always the same.' Arson fell silent at that point. Rayne frowned at him and then shrugged. 

            'Whatever.' Arson made no reply but only sat there staring blankly at the wooden floor. Rayne took his leave after a few more moments of waiting about. His thoughts turned to Ash. She had to be more careful about that amulet of hers. If Arson saw it then he would remember Ash's attempt to tell him the truth. Rayne knew only a little about his past, thanks to Ash explaining some things to him. He had long ago realized that if Arson realized what was going on, then it would just about kill him. 

            Arson slowly roused himself and walked over to Ash's bedside. It was hard for him to believe that he had attacked her. How could he have done such an awful thing? His demon was getting out of control. He needed to find a way to bring it back to a manageable condition. But the problem was, he didn't even know whether he could. 

            Ash opened her eyes at that point to see Arson watching her. She tensed and snuggled into the covers again, feeling self-conscious. Arson looked at her pensively. 

            'I'm sorry Ash. I didn't ever mean to try and harm you.' Ash looked at him, trying to think of something to say. She had no idea whether he even knew about what she had said. Of course, she didn't feel anything for him. She had used those three words as a way of protecting herself. She had never meant it at all. Arson looked at her sadly as she made no reply. 

            '…it's okay…' she said at last, her voice barely above a whisper. She cursed inwardly. Why the hell did she feel so nervous around him? Maybe it was because when she had told Arson the truth, she had been rejected. She thought not. She knew almost with a clear certainty, and by the way that Arson was watching her that he knew about her claim. 

            'Ash?'

            'Yes?'

            '…' Arson blushed but said nothing. Ash chuckled inwardly, finding the whole thing quite ironic. 'I know what you said to me.'

            'What of it?' 

            '…never mind.' Watching Arson squirm like this made her feel somewhat superior, and smug. A thought entered her brain and wiped the smugness away from her in a flash. This is what she would look like if she had her old body back. This was what he looked like when he was caught in an embarrassing situation. It felt as though she was making fun of herself. She felt words tumbling out of her mouth, barely thinking about them as she lied and lied. 

            'I meant it. You know that don't you? That I meant what I said?' Arson's eyes widened and Ash felt as though danger was rapidly approaching. She had to be careful about what she said now, unless she wanted to bring more trouble down upon her head. Like what? Arson suddenly bent down over her, and captured her lips in a kiss. Like that. Ash wanted to pull away. Her mind and her instincts told her to. For fuck's sake, she was kissing himself! She screwed her eyes shut and wailed inside. Arson pulled away, looking startled by his own actions. 

            'I love you so much, Ash,' he whispered.

            '…'

'Ash?'

'…I'm feeling tired, Arson. I think I need to sleep some more.' Arson nodded and smiled, before kissing her lightly and leaving the room. And Ash wept. 

_So bored. So sadistic. So much in a bad mood because of exams. What a pity that my characters are on the receiving end of my wrath. (laughs maniacally)I think I'd make Mundus proud. I hate these exams. Maybe when these are all over I'll stop making "Ash" get herself into messes she can't escape._

_You all know the drill. Arson, Rayne and "Ash" belong to me. No one else does. (sobs) Ah well…GCSEs (or Finals) are just about over and done with. Just another two more to go and then I'm free! Until September anyway. It seems that I can't really think of much to write for my other comedy fanfiction, Havoc in the House. Why? Simply because revising about the geezer* who wrote that freaky book Mein Kamph is not a particularly funny subject…(hmm we can all tell I'm going to pass can't you?)_

_            I'm also thinking of posting a fanfic telling the full story of Arson's past. It's already been written and is 16 chapters long, taking up 57 pages. If anyone would like me to post it, just say so in your review. The name of this maybe new fanfic is Damned Soul._

_Anyways, I hope you guys like my sadistic side of things! Read and review! Please!!! Please? (makes cute chibi face)_

_*Hitler_


	9. About a girl

Well sorry about the wait and all but I had a little trouble with my computer and other things. The Good news is that now I'm back (or maybe you think that's a bad thing) to continue this fanfic and try to think of some comedy for Havoc in the House! I'm feeling quite pleased with this so far. Why? Well because by the time I got to Chapter 8 in Darkness Falling I only had nine chapters. And right now I have 20! ^_^ Anyway, I learnt a few things. 1. Longer Chapters which are interesting. 2. An original storyline is a must and 3. Being descriptive is not always a good thing!

Anyway, I think I've prattled on enough. You want to read this chapter, right?

But first, a few more things!

Authoress' Notes to Reviewers! ^________________^

Chasm- Well glad to see you're back online! I haven't read your new chapter yet but I will do and I'll be sure to review! Thanks for your support and thanks for giving me reviews! ^_________^

Vampy Sparda- Well, I know I haven't been to talk to you much on MSN or anything but do not fear, to make it up to you here's a new chapter for your reading pleasure and blah blah blah. You can lick my boots clean afterwards…as soon as I find them…I prefer sneakers you see…

Dante- Ah yes, the wonderful DMC character who is somehow able to review fanfics! ^_^ Glad to see you've left a few reviews here and there. Now somehow, I'm thinking that maybe you'd like to see yourself more in this fanfic or something. Well don't worry, there's another one coming up and no, I won't put you through much torture like how I'm doing right now. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sadistic, I love my OC character, but after eating too much chocolate and being deprived of my favourite drink in the whole wide world, it can lead to depression…and SOMEONE has to pay for it! (laughs maniacally) 

Anyway, Dante and Xyphos and Trish and Mundus (who doesn't even appear in this fic) and Minako do not belong to me. However Rayne and Arson do. I'm sure they are thrilled to be in the possession of a crazy girl like me.

**Chapter 8**

****

            Ash curled up underneath the bed covers, crying. How could he have even dared to kiss her like that? Why had she have to go through that? She had only meant to protect herself and Minako by saying what she had said, and yet now she was paying for it. She must have been insane for even thinking that she could say something like that and get away with it. How could he have even remembered what had happened though? If he couldn't control his own powers, then how could he have remembered that? Unless she had meant that much to him…but if that was true, then he wouldn't have even tried to attack her. Thoughts raced through her head. She tried to calm her tears, but now they seemed to fall faster than ever. She was a fool. Nothing but a terrible fool. 

            Rayne had walked into the infirmary to check on Ash, but he had paused at the door when he had heard her muffled crying. He was now unsure whether to continue. Ash might yell at him for even coming near her in her present state, especially if she was as depressed as she sounded. But yet, if she sank even lower into depression, then she might end up doing something drastic. Rayne knew he couldn't allow that to happen. Tentatively, he walked over to the bed and gently sat down on the side of it. 

            'Ash?'

            'Leave me alone…I don't want to talk to anyone…' came the sobbing reply. Rayne wasn't particularly surprised by this. 

            'What happened?' The sobbing stopped abruptly. 'What happened, Arson?' The covers moved and Ash's red eyes peered out from underneath the covers. At the use of her old name, she started to sob again. Rayne lowered his eyes and sighed. 

            'Maybe I had better leave you alone for the time being,' he murmured. 

            'No wait.' Rayne turned around slowly, unhurried and calm. There was something about the way he was acting that made Ash feel more in control of herself. He probably wasn't having an easy time either. Knowing that someone who had been a best friend of his had now suddenly been replaced by someone else wasn't the best surprise in the world. But yet, she was going through so much more. The red rimmed eyes blinked lazily at her as he settled himself down at her side again. 

            'D'you want to talk about it.'

            'He kissed me,' said Ash flatly. Rayne raised his eyebrows. Ash knew from experience that this was the way Rayne expressed his surprise. 'Yeah, that's right. He kissed me. But I guess I had it coming.' 

            'What do you mean by that?'

            'Well I told the geezer that I loved him, didn't I?' Ash raised her voice slightly, and found to her shame that it was trembling still. She lowered her voice again, took a deep breath and continued, trying to inject calm in her voice. 'I only said it because he was trying to attack me and Minako. I didn't mean it. I thought that it would calm him slightly, and I was wrong. He would have killed me if you hasn't walked in at that moment. And I know that if someone can't control his power, then he will have no recollection of becoming a demon. So how could he have known what I had said?' Rayne blinked and then groaned. 

            'Minako…'

            'She told him?' Rayne nodded once. 

            'You can't blame her for this though. She didn't know that you were lying. And Arson kept on asking questions, so she had to answer. She's innocent. She didn't know anything about it.' Ash was silent. 'Do you want me to tell-'

            'NO!' Ash glared at him, but then saw that his eyebrows were raised again. 'I mean, no…if anyone else knows about this then it could get dangerous. And don't girls always talk?' Rayne smiled slowly. 

            'I wouldn't know. I've never been a girl before.' Ash glared at him. Oh so now he was making jokes about the situation? Well she didn't find it very funny. In fact, she found it humiliating. Could she really trust him? How could she be sure, when he would make jokes like that. Maybe he thought that she was crazy, and on the edge and so was humouring her. Maybe there was still an idea in his head that she was really Ash…

            Tears began to run down her face yet again. She cursed angrily as she hastily brushed them away. She glared her hatred out at Rayne, who suddenly seemed to see how much he had upset her. He pulled her into a hug. 

            'I'm sorry Ash…I didn't mean anything by it. I was just kidding with you…I'm sorry, Arson…' His face suddenly flushed up and he pulled away. Ash stared listlessly at the wall. 

            'Don't hug me again.'

            'Believe me, I won't! I just hugged a guy!' Ash laughed at this point. Rayne shuddered slightly at the bitter tone. 

            Ash was later told that she could go from the infirmary and return back to her room. Minako was the one who had led her to her room, looking at her curiously. Getting her to lead the way was not much of an easy task. 

            'You've forgotten where your room is?' she had said incredulously. Ash had blinked at her wearily. 

            'Uh…not exactly…'

            'What d'you mean by not exactly?' Minako looked at her suspiciously. 

            'Well…ever since the attack, I keep forgetting things. You know, like names.'

            'Names is one thing, but forgetting your room?' Arson's temper had seemed to get shorter and shorter since he had been forced into this body. Now she stood up shakily.

            'Well, if you don't want to help me then fine! I can bloody well find out myself.' However, when she had tried to walk forwards, she had stumbled and fallen onto the floor. Minako had helped her up. 

            'I'm not going to let you walk by yourself in that state. Come on.' And so it was that Ash had found the way to her room. But now she had another problem to face. Minako had said that Rayne was off duty at night and that they were all going to go and look around the village. She had begged Ash to come and at length, she had been forced to agree. Minako had seemed to have forgotten that Ash could not walk that well. But at the last minute, she had remembered. 

            'At six, Arson will come to get you.'

            Arson. How she dreaded hearing his name. Which was a terrible thing to act considering it was her name as well. It wasn't that she hated himself or anything. It was that he was so different. She wondered then about Xyphos. How was she? Did she think that Arson was dead? She wondered whether she would ever return in her own body. Xyphos had so many times told him that she loved him, and yet, Arson had never said anything back. She regretted it now, and wished that there was some way in which she could just come back in her own body, just to tell her that he felt the same way. 

            Ash sighed and slowly opened up the closet in her room. Her eyes widened as she saw the amount of clothes in the closet. Rayne hadn't been kidding when he had once said that Ashley had been vain. The dresser was covered with cosmetics. Ash looked at them distastefully and swept them off the dresser. No way was she going to put that on herself. What was the point? Besides, she didn't even know how. She turned back to the closet and looked at the clothes, confused. It must have been hard for this girl to choose what she was going to wear, she thought sarcastically. And yet, Minako wanted to go to the village again. Somehow, it looked as though this Ash person that she was currently pretending to be had bought all the shops. 

            At length, she chose a pair of black trousers with a black top and jacket. Nice and simple and stylish as well. She looked at the clock, five to six. She heard a knock on the door and opened it slowly. She was pleasantly surprised and relieved to see Minako. She looked at Ash in shock. 

            'You're not wearing any make up…' she said dazedly. 

            'I know,' returned Ash. 'Is there a problem?'

            'No…it's just that…normally you don't go out of the base without make up on.' Ash pulled a face inwardly. What a pitiful existence this girl must have had. 'Besides, don't you want to impress Arson?' added Minako slyly. Ash wondered what to say to this. If she said no after saying that she loved Arson, Minako would get a little suspicious. Questions would lead up to more lies. She had had enough of lying to last her a lifetime. Especially if it meant that she was going to be kissed or something after every lie she told. 

            'If Arson likes me then he'll like me for what I look like, said Ash primly. Minako frowned at her but then nodded. The two walked out of the base in silence. Ash felt as though her stomach was being clawed out. What else could go wrong today?

It looks like I'll just have to leave it at that for now. But I'll soon have a new chapter for you to read. Read and review? Well if you've got here then you've probably read it already…but could you review? Please? Please please please please??? 


	10. Parallel Pasts

Chapter 9 

****

            The night was cool. Ash raised her head to the night sky and breathed in deeply, enjoying the breeze as it blew gently on her face, throwing her hair away from her features. The town seemed to be a peaceful place, which was ironic considering it was in the midst of a demon invasion. She suddenly sighed and looked towards Minako. 

            'It's getting dark pretty quickly over here isn't it?' she said. Minako nodded. 

            'It's been doing that ever since the demons invaded. You should know now by your research that when in the midst of a heavy demon invasion, darkness falls quicker then is usual.' Ash took in this new information and stored it at the back of her mind. 

            'Why would the demons want to infiltrate this little place though? It looks perfectly normal to me. I can't sense anything out of the ordinary…and I would have done so by now if there was anything worth knowing.' Minako looked at her as though puzzled. 

            'You can sense things now?' Ash nodded once, silently. 'I envy you. I still can't sense anything much. I can only feel it when there's loads of demons around me.' Ash smiled at her, wanting to stop her from worrying about why it was she could not sense the taint of demons. 

            'As days pass, and as you get more experience of demons, you'll soon pick it up. Right now, it should be me who envies you. The stench of demons is foul, and I would have liked nothing better then to be rid of it.' She suddenly stopped, thinking. Yeah she had just said something that was deadly true about himself. He hated the smell of demons. Even when he was a child, he had been grateful for Dante, his grandfather's help, but he had still feared him. He still did. Though it was only faint, he had still been able to pick up the demonic taint in him. But yet, he had been able to live with Xyphos. She supposed that now she was very used to it in her own body, but now, as Ash she still wasn't. Maybe that was why she was recoiling from those she had _wanted _to trust. 

            The lights of the town came into view. Ash smiled as she saw it. From the top of the hill both she and Minako were standing on, she could see that there was a band of sand just to the West of the town, where it led down into the shimmering turquoise ocean. 

            'It's quite a way away from the base isn't it?' said Ash at length. Minako nodded. 

            'We're trying to find a site that's closer to Kilaya but w haven't had any luck yet.'

            'It seems so peaceful…' murmured Ash. Minako nodded in agreement. 

            'I like coming here. Not to go in the town, but just to sit up here and watch what's going on. I like to come up here and think, you know?' Ash could see what she meant. Though the town seemed very welcoming to her after being stuck in a base for so long, where the locks and the doors were all controlled by electricity, it was nice to be outside. It seemed as though this place would be perfect for sitting down and trying to clear her mind. 

            'I think you and Arson will make a great couple,' said Minako suddenly. Ash swung her head around to look at her piercingly. 

            'Excuse me?'

            'I think you and Arson will make a great couple. But you know…you should really try and be nicer to him…I mean you're always putting him down and insulting him. I often wonder why he's still been running after you for all this time.' Ash had turned her head to look back at Kilaya but now she turned to look at Minako again. 

            She saw the expression on her face. It was almost as though she were holding her breath, as though waiting for a bomb to go off and explode in her face. What kind of person had this girl been? Someone who had scared most people surely. That much was obvious when you considered the expression on Minako's face. Ash smiled at her. 

            'You really like to tell it straight don't you?' said Ash at last. Minako blinked at her, looking puzzled and somewhat relieved that Ash had not yelled. She smiled nervously. 

            'Well someone's got to tell you the truth. It may as well be me.' Ash's smile broadened. If she was going to act like a girl, then he might as well give it her best shot. She had already been thinking while Minako had been answering her question. Ash had cried so much recently. Nearly everyday since she had been here. Nearly every hour. Were Dante, Xyphos and Trish watching him right now? Were they laughing? If so, then she really had to stop this senseless weeping. He was simply trapped in a girl's body now and that was all there was to it. After all, if this was some kind of a test that Sparda was planning for him, and if this was all a world which Sparda had dreamt up, in order to test him, then he was surely failing. Ash made up her mind then and there to toughen up. No more tears. She simply had to do what was required of her, and try to survive as best as she could in the meantime. Besides, Kilaya needed help. What Kilaya didn't need were people who sat down and cried all day feeling sorry for themselves. 

            Ash looked down on the town again. No. Kilaya did not need anymore cry babies. She had already liked what she had seen and now she was oddly impatient to be on their way again. However, Minako didn't seem to think the same way as her. She had sat down and was now staring at the distance, a dreamy look in her eyes. Ash thought about hurrying her up but then decided against it. After all, everyone had been so patient with her, and now it was her turn to repay back the favour. She sensed that Minako wanted to talk about something, though she was not entirely sure what. 

            At length she began talking again, her eyes still far away. 

            'Me and Rayne…we've known each other since we were kids.' Ash nodded quietly, not really sure how to answer this strange remark. 'And only now, we've finally got it together. But it's so hard, Ash.' Ash was about to make some kind of sarcastic comment when Minako carried on again. 'You understand what I'm going through…I know you do. I mean look at you and Arson…' Ash held her silence. Sudden intuition told her that Minako had kept silent for so long, that now it was imperative that she should talk, and get everything out of her system. Minako remained silent for some minutes. Ash decided that it was time to prompt her. 

            'So why is it so hard?'

            'He's a vampire…'

            'Have you got something against vampires?'

            'No not at all…' Ash waited. Minako didn't continue. 

            'So why are you finding it hard if he's a vampire?'

            'Well…in the day he's usually asleep. But at night, he's always on his shift.'

            'He isn't today though. And he wasn't when we went out walking that day when I…' Ash checked herself. She had been about to say "when I had been warped here".  Mianko nodded. 

            'You're right. But it's just so hard. We barely even talk. And now I'm kind of worried.'

            'Why are you worried?' Minako looked up at Ash at that point, her eyes deadly serious. Ash actually backed away from her frowning, sensing some kind of resentment. 

            'Ash I want you to be honest to me.'

            'Sure what is it?'

            'Well…do you like Rayne?' Ash frowned and then grinned. 

            'Sure I do.' Minako glared at her. 

            'I thought so.'

            'But then again so does Arson,' continued Ash. Minako's eyes widened. 

            'What?' Ash looked at the expression on her face and frowned again, sensing that they were misunderstanding each other. 'What do you mean Arson likes Rayne? Does Rayne like him back? Are you okay with Arson liking Rayne?' Ash ran a hand through her hair, puzzled. 

            'Well I don't mind to be honest. I think Rayne likes him. At least that's why they always talk to each other. I mean, I haven't seen them exactly strangling each other or anything,' said Ash. She was totally nonplussed at the look of disbelief on Minako's face. 

            'But I thought you loved Arson!' Ash blinked but then frowned at Minako again. The two stared at each other, Minako with tears in her eyes and Ash with a look of pure bewilderment on her face. Suddenly, her eyes cleared and she burst out laughing. 

            'Oh! You mean _like _like!' said Ash loudly. Minako could only stare at her in disbelief but then shook her head, her anxiety slipping away rapidly. She couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Ash's face. 'I thought you were talking about something else!' Ash laughed properly for the first time since she had arrived here. This was getting wilder and wilder. She wondered what would have happened if she hadn't realised what Minako had been talking about. That would have caused too many problems. Minako stood up and stretched. 

            'Well, instead of sitting around, we'd better meet up with the guys.' Ash nodded and looked towards the town. She breathed in deeply and shook her head, a bemused look on her face before she followed Minako. 

            Ash sat down calmly at the table at the restaurant and crossed her legs, trying to act as feminine as possible. Arson didn't even look in her direction. He was pale faced and his eyes were on the menu in front of him. He looked distractedly around and brushed a hand through his hair, making him look even more haggard. Rayne was watching him worriedly but then smiled at Minako as she sat down beside him. Ash gently poked Arson in the side. 

            'Are you okay?' Arson jumped and blinked at her, as though he had only just realised that she was by his side. 

            'Hi!' he said, in a falsely cheerful voice. Ash frowned at him. 

            'What's wrong?'

            'Nothing. What makes you think that?' Ash was about to comment on the ashen look his face had taken but then decided against this, thinking it might hurt his feelings. Instead she cleared her throat and forced herself to smile at him. 

            'Well, maybe because you haven't told me how I look.' She settled back in her hair and struck what she thought was a feminine pose. Arson frowned at her. 

            'What's wrong with you? You haven't put on any make up,' he said. Ash felt as though she had just been slapped. She scowled at him. 

            'Maybe I just didn't feel like it,' she said through gritted teeth. Arson suddenly smiled sensing her irritation. 

            'You look better without any on,' he murmured. Ash didn't exactly know what to say to this so remained silent. 

            'You know Arson, you look kind of pasty. Aren't you feeling well?' said Minako. Arson said nothing. Rayne frowned at Minako, telling her to drop the subject. Minako caught the warning glare and returned to looking through her menu. Ash also decided to do the same but then blinked. 

            'Um…what language is this?'

            'Kilayan,' said Rayne promptly. Ash blinked at him from over her menu. 

            'You're kidding me, right?' Arson looked at her, confused. Rayne smiled falsely at Ash. 

            'No but _you_ are. You're not being very funny.' Ash suddenly understood. 

            'Well someone's got to brighten up the mood,' she said in a small voice. She felt oddly out of place here. Everyone knew what they were ordering, apart from her. She sighed listlessly and fidgeted in her seat before freezing when she felt someone's eyes on her. 

            'You look cute when you do that.'

            'Do what?' Arson smiled languidly. His face no longer looked troubled. 'When you play with your hair like that.'

            'Yeah well it's long.'

            'I like it long.'

            'I was thinking of getting it cut,' said Ash promptly. _Let's see him make a reply to that! _Arson shrugged. 

            'It would look good short too.' Ash rolled her eyes when Arson wasn't looking in her direction. Rayne sniggered behind his menu, causing Minako to look at him curiously. 

            'So what are you ordering, Ash?'

            'A Hamburger,' said Ash immediately. Arson choked on his drink. Minako looked at Ash in bewilderment. Rayne continued to chuckle. 

            'I…don't think they do hamburgers here, Ash,' said Minako. Ash shrugged. 

            'All right then anything else I guess. I'm not picky.' Arson blinked twice. 

            'That's odd…' he murmured. 'Usually you turn your nose up and everything. Including hamburgers.' Ash simply shrugged again. 

            'Can't be a bitch all my life can I?' Arson suddenly sighed and walked out of the restaurant. Ash watched him go, strangely concerned. A piece of paper fell out of his jeans pocket. Ash got up and dashed towards it, picking it up. 

            'Hey Arson!' Arson hadn't heard her. Or maybe he was just ignoring her. Whatever the case was, he didn't come back. Ash returned to her seat looking confused. She quickly unfolded the piece of paper. The red ink seemed to jump out at her as she scanned the letter. 

            It read, "The Curse. When you ran, you escaped for only a short time. You thought you were safe these past three years. But you were a fool. You were wrong. Now is the time to gain my vengeance. You won't even live to see the rest of the week. Ophelia". Ash gave vent to a petrified shout and then dropped the paper. 

            'Shit!' Rayne stood up. 

            'What is it? Ash? Talk! What is it?' Ash handed him the letter, her hands shaking. She swallowed hard and tried to steady herself. Minako read the letter over his shoulder and frowned. 

            'Who's Ophelia.'

            'A very evil woman,' said Ash in a low voice. 'She's Arson's mother.' Minako's eyes widened. Rayne looked at Ash in shock, his eyes questioning her silently. Ash answered by giving a tiny nod. 

            'I think we should go home,' Rayne said softly, steering the two out of the building and back towards the base. Ash's thoughts were a whirl. So, Ophelia was still alive. For some odd reason she was not as scared as she should have been. She figured that this was because she was not in any danger this time. Instead, it was his parallel self. Her thoughts seemed to rewind and then play back everything that Arson had told her about his life. Ophelia had never died. He had never met Dante, his grandfather. And Val was dead. Judging by the letter, he had run away when he was fifteen and now Ophelia was back and hunting him down. Ash suddenly was filled with nothing but pity for Arson. He had been living through such trauma until he was fifteen, and as soon as he relaxed he had found out that he was on the run once again. 

            This parallel world was getting to be more and more crazy even as the minutes passed. 

            _Okay, if anyone is finding this very VERY difficult to understand, E mail me and I'll explain everything. _

_Anyway, disclaimer is as follows. Despite what Dante's review said in Havoc In The House, he doesn't belong to me. Even though I wish he did. (steps away from Dante who was hiding behind her) Capcom owns Dante. As for me, I just use my evil imagination to make random things happen when I'm in a bad mood. Surprisingly, I'm not in a bad mood right now. I just have writer's block. ARGH! _

_Xyphos doesn't belong to me. Trish doesn't. Mundus doesn't. Blades don't. Minako doesn't. The only two who DO belong to me are the terrible duo, Rayne and Arson. Well they're not that bad in my serious fics but in HITH, they WILL make things happen. And not all of them good. _

_Read and review please??? (puppy eyes)_

_Thanks to Vampy Sparda for Rping with me and somehow making this idea come into my already twisted mind. _


	11. A new discovery

I will yawn like how I always do. And now I shall begin the disclaimer that everyone has heard countless times. (yawns some more) 

_Dante does not belong to me, neither does Trish or Xyphos. Arson and Ash and Rayne don't feature in this chapter for once. But yeah, they still belong to me. Anyway, it's been some time and I think I'm getting even worse with my writer's block. Nothing is giving me any inspiration for Havoc In The House and I'm feeling drained and exhausted. Is this the boredom of my summer holidays settling in? Oh Bah…anyways, I'm so messed up I've even forgotten which chapter number it is. I think it's ten but I'm not entirely sure. It's confusing after a while…using Chapter 1 for the Prologue and what not and…(is waffling) _

_Maybe I should get a blog or something so then I can rant and rave and basically be as weird as I want. I mean, let's be serious, this type of thing doesn't really have a place in my fanfics does it? God knows…(glowers at the blank wall in front of her) I read Harry Potter and was disappointed. Now don't get me wrong. It's an amazing book and it was well written and everything. But everyone who knows me knows that I love phoenixes…SO WHERE WAS THERE A PHOENIX??? I thought the whole plot would be about the phoenix but I WAS WRONG!!! (wails) The only time a phoenix does come is when Fawkes is acting as a guard dog and the other is when he gets roasted into a little hatchling again. (scowls) _

_Ah I do love talking like this. It gets a lot off my mind y'know? Anyways, here comes a little insight on Arson's past, for those of you who want to know._

_I also have to thank Chasm who indirectly helped me. Remember how I said that Sparda had a spirit in the first chapter? Well Chasm's ideas of the swords having spirits in his amazing fanfic gave me a couple of ideas. Swords can think… _

Chapter 10 

****

            The snow had carried on falling throughout the day. It was now evening and the darkness was beginning to fall. The children had long ago returned to their warm living rooms, where they would warm and dry themselves by a blazing fireplace. The warmth…how he longed for it after trudging around in the snow and getting water in his boots.

            Snow crunched noisily under his feet, but no matter how hard Dante tried to keep his silence in the cold, the snow always betrayed his presence. Dante grumbled to himself inwardly. Trish had said that she had sensed some kind of force, a demon taint. Dante knew better than to ignore her. Trish's senses were more delicate and refined then his own, she could pick up taints quicker and more accurately then him. But there was a horrible gnawing anger that coursed through his veins. 

            Dante was not shocked when he heard a voice sound in his head. At first he had been surprised but now he had grown accustomed to it. Sparda. He paused and listened to what the spirit had to say.

            'You're worried, aren't you?' Dante stiffened slightly. 

            'Considering I just felt a huge power surge, what do you think?' he said bitterly. Snow began to fall again, but on Dante's silvery head, the snow flakes were barely noticeable. People may have been surprised to hear Dante say this. His outward appearance was calm, and it was to the point that it was hard to believe that he was feeling slightly uneasy. Dante could now understand why Trish had been unable to rest properly. Even he had been able to feel it now. He waited to hear anything else that the sword might have to say. When there was no reply, Dante carried on walking through the snow, his boots still crunching the flakes underneath his heel. 

            An hour passed. Dante paused again, uncertainly. He could now locate the demon source. It was somewhere to the north west. Whereas before it didn't seem as though it was much to worry about, the tint had begun to grow more and more stronger. Dante had at first thought that it was simply a huge group of lower class demons…such as a Jothromsira or something. But now he knew that this was something a lot more menacing. 

            Again the voice sounded, and Dante found himself getting irritated by it. His sword had the spirit of his father, Sparda in it. Some part of his father had been preserved, but only now when Arson had seemingly vanished had the spirit chosen to talk. The thought irked him. 

            Dante didn't see the sword as a part of his father however. He couldn't bring himself to. His father was dead, his body destroyed by the demons who had ambushed him and had overpowered him by their sheer weight of numbers. It annoyed him somehow that the sword kept on talking to him. He had preferred it when it had been an inanimate piece of steel. But now that he thought about it, no other sword had felt quite like Sparda. He had never held a sword that had allowed him to slay and cause pain as easily as Sparda. The sword had felt as though it naturally belonged to him…no it felt more like a _part_ of him. Dante stopped his musings to listen to what the sword had to say.

            'As a demon hunter, you should not be afraid.' Dante bristled at this remark.

            'I'm _not _afraid. I've just never felt anything quite like this before. This taint's different to even Mundus…or even Argosax or the Despair…' He fell silent. If Dante hadn't been superstitious-it was crazy not to be considering his job-he would have never heard the sword laugh. It was a harsh deep grating sound, something that only a full blooded demon would be capable of. He was reminded painstakingly of his brother, Virgil, who had laughed in a way similar to the sword. However, even he had not been a full blooded demon, and now that he looked back on it, he sounded no way near as menacing as this. But now, considering the sword was now actually _talking _to him, he might as well ask a few questions himself, before the sword decided to be a stubborn piece of steel again. 

            'Why now?'

            'Why _what_ now?'

            'You've only chosen to talk now, after so many years of having me as your wielder. Why now? Why not before?'

            'You're growing old.' Dante huffed out a chuckle. 'You may not look it, but it is simply the truth.'

            'Yeah? Well so what? I know I am. It doesn't bother me though. I've led a good life.'

            'The time has come to pass down the legacy of Sparda.' Dante unsheathed the blade and held it up to the lamplight nearby. It was a beautiful blood red sword. He would hate to part with the blade… 'Of course, by passing down the legacy, it does not mean you simply pass down the weapon. It involves a lot more…and the weapon doesn't actually come into it. The legacy I passed down to you was the fact that we are of demon blood, and yet we do good and not evil.' Dante ignored what the sword had said and remained silent. It was true, he _was_ becoming old. It wasn't that he had stiff joints or anything. It wasn't that he had lost his will to fight. It was simply that his job seemed to lack something that he was looking for. It bored him. The fact was Dante had seen it all and it had come to the point that even Trish had commented on how he seemed to be lacking something in battle. Oh yes, he still _looked _ and behaved the same…but looks were often deceiving. Despite knowing sooner or later that he would pass it down, he was surprised and dismayed that the sword, this inanimate object was also telling him the same. 

            'You've given Arson a test, haven't you?'

            'Yes, to see whether he really is capable of being a hunter. I test him, and he has to find ways in passing the challenges. He has to learn how to face the unexpected, which he has done with more grace then I would have expected. True there have been times when he's cursed the world and dissolved into depression, but he's coped a lot better than I had hoped. He has to learn also to do the things that he must hate doing. He has to learn how to trust his judgement and he must also learn how to hide his feelings. There's a lot more besides all that too.'

            'Why didn't you try to test my son, Arson's father?'

            'Kryder? Your bastard child?' Dante was silent. He had made a mistake when he had been caught up in a night of passion with some woman, and because of that he had ended up becoming a father…but he had only found out the result when Kryder managed to find him after journeying. Kryder had been around thirty five or so when he had finally found Dante. He had been surprised and shocked to see the green eyed man with black streaked silver hair standing in front of him and claiming he was his son. Sparda cut into Dante's thoughts again. 

            'I did not pass on the test to Kryder simply because I did not like him. He does not deserve the honour of carrying on the legacy.' Dante frowned. He had always imagined that it had been he who would choose who carried on his legacy, but he had been wrong. The sword was the one who chose. The sword decided everything. It was also true that Kryder had many faults but it seemed somewhat unfair that he would be dismissed so easily. Sparda continued to explain his choice.

            'Arson has a true heart and he knows about justice. He knows the difference between killing for self gain and killing for the sake of others. However, Kryder doesn't. When Ophelia died when Arson was fifteen, Kryder only came to his son's age because of his own vengeance. You may not know it, but Kryder and the leader of the Fallen Angels had a bitter rivalry. Kryder could have spent more time with his son but after a week, he had left again.'

            'Are you saying that Kryder doesn't give two shits about Arson?' There was no reply. 'Because if that's what you're saying, you're wrong. My son is not like that.'

            'And how would you know? You were never there to bring him up.' Dante growled angrily at this remark. The spirit had touched upon a sore spot. Another thought struck Dante forcibly. Hadn't he become a demon hunter for vengeance? His mother and brother…they had been killed because of demons…and he had been sent into a rage. So wasn't vengeance his main motive for hunting down the demons? Again the spirit read his thoughts and answered his question for him. 

            'No, Dante. You wanted vengeance but you also wanted to make sure that no one else went through the same pain as you.' Dante came to another halt. 

            'You didn't choose me. By luck I found the amulet that Virgil cast down.'

            'I could have become unwieldy in your hands. But as soon as I saw you, I understood that you were the one to carry on the legacy and not Virgil.' 

            'Are you really Sparda?'

            'In spirit.'

            'I thought you were killed by demons.'

            'Yes but my spirit was trapped in the sword upon my death. I ordered it to be this way, and I had to undertake many procedures for my wish to take place. The sword itself was born of my own body, in a way I refuse to tell you. The memory itself still burns. Though I was in body killed, the spirit within the sword lived on.

            'I won't have the same fate will I?'

            'Only if you choose to. Dragon and Phoenix would be your host simply because you were the one who made minor adjustments to their design. You had a part in the making of the swords, and if you choose to become a spirit in a sword when you die in body, they will be your hosts. You could act as Arson's guide if you so chose. I didn't need to act as your guide, for I saw that you were fully capable of handling yourself.' Dante shook his head. 

            'No. I don't want that.' As soon as he said this, he knew why he had refused. If he died, he wanted to die completely. These villains all thought of being granted eternal life, or eternal strength. But to be eternally living would mean seeing his loved ones pass away. He would be left behind, facing the same pain over and over again, as well as causing pain to others, spilling the blood of demons. He may have wished to continue to fight, but the fact of seeing the death of his relatives and friends was enough to turn him away from these thoughts. Wasn't this what he had wanted to get away from? He didn't want to face seeing someone as close to him as his mother had been die again. He would never be able to handle it if it happened again. 

            'A wise choice,' said the spirit. Dante tensed and looked up as he felt another power surge. 

            'Did you feel that?'

            'It grows ever stronger. You and Trish won't be able to defeat this new threat by yourselves. It is now way above your own power limits combined.'

            'So now what?'

            'Wait until the day is done.'

            'What? So then it gets even stronger? What kind of shit is that?' Dante's eyes suddenly dawned with realisation. He nodded grimly and then turned back the way he had come. 

            'I will give you more information on the beast we have to face. I know now who he is from the power. But first wait until the dawn of the next day.' Dante nodded again. 

            'Fine.'

            'Tomorrow, the real test will truly begin.'

I'm guessing a lot of you thought that this was going to be about Arson and no one else. Well guess again. Dante is still going strong in my fics. He's going to get a lot more of a role in this fic from now on. (grins)

_            Anyway, I hope that didn't go too badly for one with writer's block…review and tell me if you agree…please? (looks hopeful and then stares at everyone like a cute puppy)_


	12. A close call

_Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! No I have not turned into a sheep, I'm just annoyed with myself for this damned writer's block…but it looks like it's actually helping me instead because I'm working harder on making this good. (sighs) Does that make any sense to anyone? No? I didn't think so somehow. _

_            Vampy-Thanks for the reviews and the support. I know I've been tedious recently and that I've been a pain in the ass and all, but thanks for the reviews! I'll try and get more people to read your fanfic in return, okay? ^_^_

_            Chasm-my secret? Uhm…I sit down in front of my computer, try and think of what to write and then write down the first thing I think of and then struggle from there on in. The notes at the beginning of my chapters just come naturally. I never think about those…as for the chapters…^^;; Well strawberry milk is always good, but if you don't like strawberry milk then you could always try chocolate milk. There's nothing like writing when on a sugar rush._

_You know who belongs to me. You know who doesn't. But for all those who just like to see me repeat myself over and over and over and over again…here goes._

_Dante, Trish, Xyhos and Minako do not belong to me. Arson, Ash and Rayne DO belong to me. So does the new person that's mentioned at the end of this chapter too. So there. :P_

_Oh and did I mention I'm working on a new comedy fic? WITHOUT ARSON??? Curious? Well then keep your eye out for it._

Chapter 11 

****

            Death was coming ever closer. Death was all around. Arson was in his room, packing his belongings. He had to leave. Now. Immediately. He paused as he heard a noise outside. His whole body tensed up and he froze in the same spot. The footsteps receded down the hallway. He was safe. Arson continued to pack his bag with feverish energy. 

            He tensed as he heard the door knock. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened slightly. He found himself instinctively crouching down into his fighting stance, ready to spring into action if need be. He relaxed as he heard someone's voice outside the door. 

            'Arson? Are you okay?' It was Ash. Arson recognised her voice straight away and immediately, his whole body became slack as he breathed out deeply. He mentally chided himself. If it had been Ophelia, she wouldn't have bothered with knocking on the door. She would have just barged straight in, slit his throat and then be done with it. And the curse would have died. It would have all ended. His suffering as well as the suffering of those who went near him. 

            That was why he was leaving. If Ophelia was after him, then he had to leave and keep his friends safe. He had to keep Ash safe. She had the same aura as him now, and even she might not be safe from Ophelia. Minako too was a full blooded demon, and Arson owed too much to Rayne to put her life in danger. Rayne had been his first friend, and for a time, his only one. 

            Ash's voice cut into his thoughts again. She sounded slightly panicked. 

            'Arson? Are you in there? Let me in!' Arson quickly got to his feet and opened the door. Ash stepped back a pace as her eyes fell upon his face. She looked at him critically. He was a mess. His hair was tousled from when he ran his hand through it, distracted and tense. His face was pale and his eyes were dim. He looked on the verge of a nervous break down. Ash was filled with pity for him but didn't comment on the way he looked. 

            'I know what's wrong. You could have told me.'

            'Nothing's wrong.'

            'So you say.' Ash unfolded the letter and showed it to Arson. Arson took it speechlessly but did not look at it. He didn't need to. The handwriting in the red ink was all that he needed to see. 'This fell out of your pocket, Arson.'

            'I've got to leave.'

            'No…you've got to fight.' This seemed to force Arson into a rage. 

            'You think it's that easy don't you! You don't know any of the crap that monster put me through!' Ash narrowed her eyes. 

            'No…I don't expect I do, do I? Especially after I told you your own life story. Oh yes, I know exactly what she put you through. I know that even I'm not safe here. I know her hatred for anything that even resembles a demon.' Arson's eyes widened and he calmed down slightly. He stared at her speechlessly. 

            'What?'

            'You heard what I said. Don't make me repeat myself.' Arson took a step back from Ash, looking at her as though in disbelief. Ash folded her arms obstinately. 'Well?'

            'You really were telling the truth that day, weren't you?'

            'What makes you think that?' Alarm bells had begun to ring in Ash's mind. She was treading on thin ice. One wrong word or move would blow her cover. She looked at him blankly as Arson sat down on the edge of his bed, his hands cradling his head. 

            'How else could you know about Ophelia? How else could you know of her hatred?' Arson looked up at her dully. 'She'll come after you too.'

            'I know.'

            'How could you have known that she'll go after you though? Ash…were you really telling the truth that day? Is there really a parallel world?'  Ash swallowed hard, unsure as to what to do or say. 

            'Arson…' she managed to murmur, but then she stopped as Arson's eyes fastened onto her and slowly slid down to her chest. Ash recoiled and put her arms up defensively but then understood as she caught sight of a red flash. She looked to her right, at a mirror that hung on the wall there. She gasped. Her amulet was showing. The amulet that only people with Sparda blood could inherit. Arson was shaking his head, disbelief written all over his face. 

            'I can't believe it…you were telling the truth the whole time…' Ash looked around desperately for anything that she could say. 

            'Arson…no…I-'

            'Save your lies! I've heard enough of them! You forced me to actually believe that you were really Ash…where is she???' Ash blinked, unsure of the question. It was a good one. If he had taken over this girl's body, then where was the girl? Something suddenly spoke into her mind, taking her by surprise. Arson saw the shock written on her face and it only infuriated him more. 

            'Answer me damn it!'

            'She's…She's dead…' Ash heard herself speaking as though in a daze. The words tumbled from her mouth before she had time to gauge what the hell she was saying. Arson frowned, the girl who stood in front of him was not his Ash at all…she was…she was _him_? This didn't make any sense. How could it be this way? His Ash was dead. He would never see her again. This had to be some dream. That was it. He was dreaming. He was in the throes of a terrible nightmare. 

            He broke out into hysterical laughter. 

            'This is a joke right? Of course it is…it has to be! So much can't happen in a single day…'

            'Arson…'

            'Don't talk to me! Don't talk damn it! What the hell are you going to say next?' Arson had turned away from her and had resumed packing his bag. His face had become deathly white by this time. Ash tried again. 

            'Arson…'

            'GET AWAY FROM ME!' Ash froze in the spot for a split second but then quickly took her leave, cursing herself quietly. She had said too much. She quietly walked through the corridors to her own bedroom and then took off her amulet. She should have known better then to keep wearing this. She had to hide it somewhere, in a place where no one would be able to find it. Needless to say, she was slightly perturbed about the way Arson had acted. Soon, she felt a feeling of relief pass over her. She allowed herself to smile thinly. If Arson really _was_ going to leave, it would make her life a hell of a lot easier. She needed all the breaks she could get. 

            She sighed and then closed her eyes. She knew somehow that she would not be able to get a good night's sleep. Especially when she knew that Ophelia was somewhere around. She felt strangely unprotected. But she knew that the time had come for her to rely totally on herself. A sudden understanding washed through her. This was the test? To learn self-reliance? Well then, she'd show them who was boss around here.

            'His name is Acedeca. He is a being of immense power and his strength surpasses even that of Argosax. You, Dante had a hard enough time trying to finish him off.' Dante said nothing but remained silent. Sparda was right. Argosax had been hard enough, but in some ways, the Despair had been even worst. He hated to admit it, but by the time he had destroyed Argosax, he was exhausted. He remembered feeling a pit of dread settle into his stomach and immense feelings of fatigue come over him, but then he had summoned up strength from deep within. It had been enough for him to carry on the fight. 

            If this Acedeca was stronger then even the Despair, then the future was very bleak indeed. Trish looked slightly worried. Though she hadn't been there, she knew the troubles that Dante had faced. Dante could tell just be looking at her that she was feeling the same way as he. Xyphos looked both terrified and excited. It was almost as though she didn't understand the true dismalness of the situation. Xyphos seemed to live only for adventure. Well, it speared as though she would get more than her fair share. Dante sighed at this thought. 

            'Isn't there any way we can beat this guy?'

            'You have to combine your power and work as a team.' Xyphos looked even more thrilled at this prospect. 

            'That doesn't sound too hard.'

            'But are you just a child. Others have tried to combine their energy together and have failed, miserably. The huge amount of energy that they summoned was too great for them to control. It destroyed their enemies, but it also destroyed them as well.' Xyphos looked subdued. 

            'Woah…that's not a good thing, huh.' Trish shook her head in mild exasperation. Dante ignored them both and continued to listen to what the spirit had to say. 

            'At tomorrow's dawn, you will need only one more person to attain enough energy to destroy Acedeca.'

            'But there's only three of us,' piped up Xyphos.

            'Arson will be back tomorrow,' said Dante, his face expressionless. Trish nodded her agreement. Xyphos' face brightened up at the mention of his name. Dante however, had more important things to think about.

            'So let me get this straight. After Arson returns, we only have to find one more person to be able to destroy this new force, right?'          

            'Indeed.'

            'That shouldn't be too hard.'

            'Keep in mind that first you have to survive the journey.'

            'It's only to the North West of here though! We could just drive there!' cried Xyphos. If Sparda had eyes, he would have surely glared at him in the way Dante was doing so now. 

            'Use your sense, kid,' growled Dante. 'Ever since I've felt that power, I've felt more and more demon surges around here. All of them powerful. We have to use our stealth.' Xyphos was silent. Trish sighed. 

            'Looks like this is going to be our hardest battle yet,' she said gloomily. Dante silently agreed with her. If this "combining the energy" routine backfired, hey would all be killed. Dante's eyes narrowed. Even if he died, at least he would go down with a fight.__


	13. Eye to eye, Blade to Blade

_            It's been a long time, I know. Well…about a week actually…I was meaning t get this done but then I kept on getting distracted. Don't get me wrong. Writing is my life and everything, but sometimes, some things just can't be ignored, right? I'm not really looking forward to the 21st of August…my results come out for my exams. But I guess I can't really do anything else about it now. What's done is done, right? (shudders) Still…I'll just try and keep myself busy with these little fanfictions of mine and hopefully, that will keep my mind off things._

            _A big thank you to Vampy for giving me a few ideas when I needed them. Also another big thank you to Chasm; you've been giving me a lot of support and stuff whenever I do write a fanfic. Thanks a lot. Titer? Yeah well you've also given me huge help. Again, thanks to your support I didn't quit and I'm still writing and doing what I love best. Thanks to all of you. Anyway, read this and review, okay? ^_^ You might hate me after this!_

_            I think I should tell you guys something else. My first ever fanfiction has just been put onto a site! A proper little private one. Anyway, go to this site here. www.gameforms.com and then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click fanfictions. Scroll down again and then you'll see this fanfic called Into The Flames. It includes Arson's first debut. To be honest with you guys…this is the FORTH in the series and the last one with Arson in it. ^_^ Darkness Falling was the third! Go see and take a look at the site, okay? It also includes some amazing fanart too! (not drawn by me-I'm a writer not an artist!)_

Chapter 12 

****

            Ash must have dozed off, for when she next opened her eyes, it was light. She yawned and stretched, somewhat surprised that there had not been some form of attack during the night. She shuddered as she got ready. Especially with _her_ about… She was in the middle of changing her clothes when she became suddenly aware of another presence in the room with her. She shrieked as she saw Sparda sitting on the bed.

            'What the hell are you doing here? Get out you…you perv!' she screamed. Sparda didn't look the least bit perturbed by Ash's outburst.           He simply chuckled and turned his back on her. Ash hastened to change the rest of her clothes and then turned him around forcefully. 

            'Don't you have any concept of privacy? Or do you always just warp into people's rooms?' Sparda shrugged. 

            'It's not your own body is it?'

            'It is now!'

            'So you've accepted yourself now, haven't you?' Ash hesitated but then shrugged. 

            'Maybe. What's it to you, anyway?' Sparda shrugged. 

            'I was simply curious.' Ash became more alert as she realised that Sparda hadn't disappeared yet. Maybe she could get some information out of him. 

            'Okay then…well I'm curious too. It was you who told me about Ash, wasn't it?' Sparda nodded once, silently. 'But how? Why? When? Where?' Sparda slowly got up, looking majestic. He turned his calm, blood red eyes onto her. Ash mirrored the gaze, feeling as though she was being tested to see whether there was any fear left in her. There was plenty, and she was not ashamed of that. However, she was not afraid of the demon knight who stood in front of her. 

            'Well?'

            'You know that Ash and the rest of her friends had gone out to relax that day. There was an attack and they were sorely outnumbered. It was Arson's idea to retreat, but Ash had already fled from the attackers. Several pursued her and they eventually tore her down and mortally wounded her. Ash managed to crawl to a clearing where she finally died. That's where you come in.'

            'What have I got to do with this? I didn't kill her.'

            'Never said you did, Arson. But her body was the only one available for you to take. Which is why you are now what you are. A girl.' Ash looked at him in disbelief. 

            'What you mean to say is that I could have been a guy if it had been a bloke who died???'

            'No. You would have still been a girl.'

            'But…why?'

            'Because you've got to learn how to accept yourself. You've also got to learn how to deal with unexpected circumstances. It's also pretty amusing to watch as well.' Ash gave an un-lady like growl, which led Sparda to laugh again. Ash shuddered as she heard his way of expressing amusement. It sounded almost evil. Was this really the same Legendary Dark Knight that the demons of the underworld had feared? Was this really the Great Grandfather she had heard so much about? She lowered her eyes for a second, thinking these thoughts and then raised her eyes up to him again. 

            Sparda and Ash both looked up as the alarms went off again. Ash jumped to her feet. Sparda suddenly outstretched his hand towards her. Ash gasped in sudden pain as something grey escaped from her body. The strange grey streak separated out into a black streak and a white streak, which both entered the palm of Sparda's hand and then he turned away. Ash's whole body felt heavy and suddenly unwieldy. She stood up unsteadily and found that her whole vision was swimming. She couldn't focus. She began to fall but Sparda caught her before she hit the floor.

            'Wh-what did you do to me?'

            'I took your powers away.' Ash's eyes widened. 

            'What?'

            'You can't always rely on them.'

            'But…I barely ever do…'

            'Prove it then. Go.' Sparda dropped the twin red blades at Ash's feet. Ash shakily bent down and picked them up. When she straightened up, she saw that Sparda had vanished yet again. 

            She staggered out of her room and into the main corridor. Luckily, she could still sense the whereabouts of her friends. She stumbled towards them, still feeling incredibly weak and fatigued. She heard a sudden cry of distress and forced herself to move faster. As she walked, she began to grow accustomed to the feeling and started running towards the sound of battle. 

            Arson, Rayne and Minako had promptly tried to seek out the enemy. They had succeeded. A woman with tangled, unkempt brown hair was crouching down before them, ready to strike. At her hip, rested a white blade that shone as the light reflected off it. Ash skidded to a halt and her eyes widened. She began to praise Sparda in her mind. He had taken her powers away simply in an effort to ward off the worst of Ophelia's attacks. For this, she was grateful. Or not. Ophelia's wild brown eyes looked towards her in shock and she gave vent to a wild snarl. 

            'Another one?' Everyone turned to stare at Ash. Arson's eyes widened. 

            'Run, Ash! Get out of here!' But Ash had already stared into those cold, dangerous bloodshot eyes. She was rooted to the spot in fear. She trembled. 

            'O-o-ophelia!' she stuttered. Ophelia seemed to recoil with anger, anger that she had somehow known her name. She rushed towards Ash and Ash found that she was unable to think clearly about what she was doing. She simply snatched up her swords from where she had dropped them and held them out. Ophelia was running towards her, too fast to even try and stop her mad charge. 

            Ophelia gave out a shallow gasp as Ash clumsily managed to hold up her blades to shield herself. Ash lowered her blades, feeling somewhat stunned to see that they were stained even darker with the Fallen Angel's blood. So she _could _do something to damage her. Granted, her powers had been taken from her, but she might not need to use them. This lifted her spirits and she crouched down into her fighter's stance. 

            Ophelia had backed off, one hand to her side, where the steel had pierced her. Arson seemed to kick start into action. He charged forward, trying to distract Ophelia before she could make another lunge at Ash. Ophelia sensed Arson coming and turned to stare at him. Arson froze, his resolve deserting him. Ophelia laughed scornfully.

            'So…you try to fight…but all I have to do is look you in the eyes and you become a coward…what's wrong, Curse?' Ash saw from the corner of her eyes that Rayne was trying to sneak up on her from behind. Yet he was still hesitating. Arson forced himself to meet Ophelia's eyes and his eyes hardened. He launched himself forward, giving vent to a war cry. Minako pulled Rayne back just as Ophelia sidestepped. Arson's sword swung in where Rayne's head had been a moment earlier. Ophelia spun around, catching Minako in the stomach with her blade. Minako fell to the ground, gasping with pain. Rayne gave out a faint cry and knelt down beside her, cradling her in his arms. Ash could see at once that though the wound was deep, she wouldn't die. 

            At the sight of one of his friends getting hurt, Arson's rage became more and more uncontrollable. Ash knew only too well what would happen if he became utterly outraged. He would turn into his demon. She had to stop that from happening. He would very well kill Ophelia easily, but yet he would then turn on the others and kill them too. 

            'Arson! Don't fall into her trap, damn it! She _wants _you to get mad!' Arson was beyond listening. Rayne had risen to his feet again, a red gleam settling into his eyes. He rushed Ophelia quickly and started attacking her with his bare fists, his hesitation gone. Arson came to his senses and stood stock still, trying to quench the flames that had risen in his vision. 

            Ophelia screamed in pain, before she managed to knock Rayne back. Blackened wings began to burst out from her back. She flapped them once, and a single charred feather fluttered to the ground. Her eyes flickered across the room, coming to land on Arson. 

            'Savour your last breath, curse!' she hissed. White energy began to collect itself in the palm of her hand. Ash's eyes widened. Arson was still trying to control the demon inside of him. Rayne was too far away to help, having been blasted back and wounded by Ophelia's blade. Minako was still healing. It was all down to her. But what could _she _do? Her powers were gone…

            Ophelia's bruised face smiled almost cheerfully at Arson, who had no idea what was happening. The energy had stopped collecting. Ash watched in horror as she drew back her hand, looking as through she was about to throw a discus. She had no time to act, save to do one thing. 

            'Arson! Watch out!' Ophelia unleashed the white energy. The large sphere separated out into tiny white spears, which were all pointing towards the struggling hybrid. He opened his eyes to see the energy flying towards him. He gasped and then put up his swords, closing his eyes, shielding his face, as though it would help. He heard someone scream and then there was silence. After a few minutes of this, he hesitantly lowered his blades and opened his eyes. A choked cry escaped his lips. 

            Ash was standing in front of him, her breath coming in shallow gasps, her clothes torn and bloody. Ophelia looked at her, stunned. 

            'You would…waste your life…for a curse? For a thing who should be destroyed?' Ash slowly, weakly opened her eyes. She managed a faint scowl. 

            'You're the…the one who needs…needs to be destroyed!' She suddenly coughed out blood, and fell to the ground, landing in a crumpled heap. Arson knelt down beside her, and saw that her eyes were already clouding over. She was dying. Tears pricked his eyes. 

            'Ash…no…' He fiercely blinked back his tears and then looked up at the Fallen Angel. 'YOU!' He jumped back up to his feet, the demon fully awakened. Rayne crawled over to Ash's side and cradled her in his arms. Ash's dimmed eyes turned onto him. 

            'Wh-what's…happening, Rayne?' Rayne shook his head in disbelief but said nothing. Ash stiffened in his arms and cried out in pain. 'Oh Gawd…' Rayne looked around helplessly. 

            'Ash. Try to heal.'

            'I…can't…' Ash coughed again, causing more blood to ooze out of her mouth. Rayne tried to wipe away the red liquid, his eyes shining strangely. Was Rayne…crying? Ash tried to squint her eyes, to see through the fog that was clouding her hearing and vision. She could hear the sound of battle, but it all seemed so bizarrely far away, as though she was listening through a quilt. She gasped as she suddenly felt a strange chilling feeling. She tried to move away from the cold, but the room seemed to swim. And the cold grew worse. It seemed to come from inside her. She could still feel the warmth from Rayne. She clutched onto him, desperate to try and escape the cold but even that little bit of heat was disappearing. 

            'Rayne…what's happening to me?' Steel clashed against steel, singing the song of death. 

            'Don't worry…you'll be okay, Ash…you _have_ to be!' The words seemed to bounce around her head without any understanding. Such blinding pain…she had never thought such a great extent of agony could be possible. There was another scream and then silence. She felt movement around her and heard someone sobbing. Another new faint feeling of warmth made itself felt, but it quickly faded. 

            'Somebody, do something!' said someone, his voice rising with desperation. Ash looked towards the owner of the voice. Arson. But behind him stood someone else. The familiar blood red eyes loomed closer. 

            'Wh-what's happening to me?' she asked again. Her voice sounded so far away. 

            _Your test has ended. You learnt the last and most important lesson of all. Sacrifice. You sacrificed your own life for Arson's._

'I'm…dying?'

            'No Ash! Everything will be okay…I promise…' whispered Arson. Rayne's eyes had widened. Even Ash realised. Only Arson was still trying to fight against the truth. Minako had managed to limp across to the small group of friends. Her eyes widened in horror. 

            'No…not this…not her…' Ash's eyes were focused on someone. Rayne had at first thought that she had been staring up at Arson, but then he realised that her eyes had slid past him, and was looking into empty space.

            _Come with me, Arson. It's time to go._

Ash watched as Sparda raised a hand towards her. She raised her hand towards his and grabbed it, finding she could get up easily. Behind her, she heard someone give one last choking breath. She turned around and her eyes widened as she saw her own arm fall limply as death took her. The last thing she remembered before darkness claimed her was seeing Rayne hold Minako close as she wept.


	14. Arson's stand

_Wah! Writer's block! Wah! Damned writer's block! Why can't you go and haunt video game characters instead? Why real people? Waaaaaaaaaaah! (calms down) Well have you figured out my problem? For the last chapter I wrote, I was absolutely fine! I was on a role! I was killing people off!!! And now what happens? I hit a brick wall head on and get a lump rising on my head. Curses!!!_

_            The heat doesn't help much either. What happened England? Did you swap weather with Barbados??? ENGLAND IS HOTTER THAN IN BARBADOS!!! That can't be right! England is fabled to be a cold place all through the year…but NOW the heat wave strikes…37 degrees Celsius!!! England don't do this to me!!! Wah! _

_            Ahem…yeah…so…Oh Just read the chapter, okay? -_-;;_

Chapter 13 

****

            Strange noises…someone coughing…the sound of steel…Arson slowly opened his eyes and raised his aching head. His vision was still swimming. 

            'You might want to rest your head back down for a second,' said a familiar voice. Arson did as was asked, closing his eyes, but a grateful smile on his face. 

            'Grandfather…' His eyes snapped open again, and he looked around. He was in a weapon room of sorts, some room he had never ever seen before in his life. His twin blades were resting by his side. But he hadn't been here before he had been sent to the other world. He had been in his apartment. He sat up quickly, causing his head to throb again. 

            'Shit…' he growled. 'What the hell am I doing here?' Dante turned to look at Arson. There was something different about him, but he couldn't quite place it. Dante shrugged. 

            'You're back.'

            'I realise that!' he snapped. 'But before I was with Xyphos.'

            'For a whole day you were out cold. Your body had died because you were gone. I couldn't just let Trish and Xyphos see you when you looked dead,' said Dante gruffly. Arson said nothing but then sighed. He suddenly stiffened. 

            'So, you feel it too,' said Dante, without looking in his direction. Secretly he was impressed. Arson's senses had become a lot sharper than before. He was becoming more and more like someone else…but who?

            '…what is it?'

            'His name is Acedeca. I don't know where he came from, or anything like that. But Sparda told me that-'

            'Sparda…' Arson's eyes narrowed. 'You know, Dante. Sparda's not as great as you think he is.' Dante frowned, though Arson couldn't see. 

            'What?' Arson shook his head bitterly. 

            'He might be a legend…but he wasn't that great of a person…' Dante narrowed his eyes slightly, angry that Arson was even talking about his own father in such a way. But Arson would know…wouldn't he?   After all, he had been sucked into the world that Sparda had made up for him…God knows what horrors he had encountered. Somehow, a part of him knew that it was only wise not to ask Arson about it. He didn't seem worse for it…in fact…he seemed more of an adult. It was almost as though there was something hardened about him. That was it…Dante suddenly realised what was so different. The Arson of old would have probably started crying at the sight of his grandfather. But not anymore. 

            The hybrid slowly got up, stretching his limbs and muscles. At length, he smiled thinly. 

            'Well…looks like I'm back. So, tell me more about this Acedeca person then.'

            _Can't you feel the power? The power that burns over and over? It's limitless. Can it ever be stopped? Even with the "rookie", they can't match the power. They still need to find someone else. But who? _Arson spun around quickly, trying to search out the voice that had sounded in his head. Dante had left the room a long time ago, to find Trish and Xyphos and to tell them that Arson had returned. But now these voices were beginning to sound in his mind. Was he going crazy?

            He heard a cackle from somewhere to his right. He turned towards the sound quickly, but his eyes met only Sparda. The voice had not been the sword's though. So what was it? And how come he had never heard these voices before. 

            He growled, suddenly realising. Of course, the weapons around here were talking amongst themselves. Too bad they didn't know exactly what he was, and who he was related to. 

            _I don't know whether they'll be able to gather the mind to find someone else. Another hunter as great as they? The Sparda clan is arrogant! They will meet their demise because of it!_

_            You've never had much of a liking for the family name, have you?_

_            Considering I tried to stab the silver haired one in the chest…no. I would have succeeded too…such a pity. _Arson knew instantly who this one was. Alastor. Dante had constantly told Arson about that little encounter where Dante had ended up being pinned to the ground, a sword impaling him. Arson had just about heard enough of this. Thinking unwisely he picked up the blade by the hilt. 

            Electrical shocks ran through his body, almost causing him to cry out in pain. He hissed out his frustration and gritted his teeth. If Dante found out what the hell he was up to-which even he didn't know-then he would never hear the end of it! At length, he dropped the sword., which gave vent to another cackle. Arson's eyes hardened as he heard the strange sound. 

            'Don't talk about him like that!'

            The sword only cackled, causing Arson to pick it up again. Once again the pain attacked him, blinding his vision. It was like some little animal trying to scratch his brain out. But still he did not cry out. At last, the pain stopped. Alastor had been subdued. 

            'So this must be the one that Sparda talks about,' said another, deeper voice. It came from the direction of two gauntlets that were surrounded by fire. Arson dropped Alastor again, panting heavily but then he calmed his breathing. 

            'He has no reason to…Ifrit.' Arson couldn't believe what he was doing. He was talking to an inanimate object…which just happened to have a spirit. He narrowed his eyes slightly before dropping the sword again. Alastor fell hard on the stone floor, clanging metallically. Arson shook his head. 

            'I've had enough of this!' he said angrily before storming out of the room. Ifrit's deep voice sounded again. 

            'He may have had enough…but even so, nothing will stop him from having more.'

            Dante looked up at Arson as he came downstairs. 

            'I thought I told you to rest.'

            'Yeah well…kind of hard to when I hear voices in my head.'

            'You mean the spirits of my weapons.' Arson said nothing for a while. 

            'Dante.' Dante raised his eyebrows, secretly relieved that Arson had stopped calling him "Gran'pa", "Grandfather" and the like. 'I'm not fighting with you.'

            'What?'

            'You heard me. I don't like to repeat myself.'

            'You have to fight with us.'

            'I don't have to do anything. You can find someone else.'

            'That means having to find two people. A replacement for you…and…'

            'That's your problem.'

            'Arson?' Dante looked at him questioningly. 

            'You made the mistake of simply _assuming _that I want to fight. I don't even want to be a demon!'

            'Yeah well you are whether you like it or not.'

            'This is one thing I _do _have a choice over. I'm not fighting.' Arson left, slamming the door shut. Dante frowned. _Someone's had an attitude adjustment _he thought to himself numbly. The second thing he thought of was less light-hearted. Now who could they count on?

            _No one was expecting this. I guess Arson got pissed off and the stress finally bubbled over. (shrugs) So who DO they count on? Find out next time._

            


	15. Arson's Present

Chapter 14 

****

            Dante said nothing but sat down. Arson had already stormed out of the house. He sighed and cradled his head, his mug of coffee lay forgotten in front of him, the steam rising out and spiralling towards the ceiling. Dante was at a loss. With Arson refusing to fight, who could he possibly ask to help? A sudden idea entered his head. He rose slowly, and walked out of the kitchen, passing Trish as he made his way to the main office.

            He started riffling through several sheets of paper, cursing when he thought he had found what he was looking for, only to find that it was wrong. Trish watched him curiously. At last, her curiosity was unable to contain itself. 

            'What are you doing?'

            'I'm looking for a number.'

            'Who's number?' Dante didn't answer. At last a thin smile flitted over his features. 'Where's Arson?' Dante's smile vanished. 

            'Oh, him. He's gone.'

            'Did you tell him what's going on?'

            'Yes.'

            'What did he say?' 

            'He said he doesn't want to fight with us.' Trish gasped in disbelief. 

            'What?'

            'Yeah, I know. Damned kid.' Dante walked past her again, a piece of paper safely in his hands. Trish looked at him curiously and then went to the files that she had been sorting out for him. Sure enough, they were all in disarray. She frowned but then her eyes widened as she saw the missing slip of paper. 

            'He's kidding, surely?'

            Arson had returned to his apartment, glad to see that the door was locked and that it was empty. Xyphos was out somewhere, and right now, he didn't feel up to talking to anyone. His body suddenly seemed to feel heavy and he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. He dragged himself to his bedroom and flopped down on the bed, closing his eyes as he nuzzled against the pillow. However, after a while he grew restless again. 

            He sat up again, bored out of his mind. He looked around, wondering what he should do. At last, his eyes fell across the present that he had not yet opened. The present from Trish. He smiled faintly as he saw this, and half of him argued that what he had just said to Dante was wrong. After all, if he wasn't going to fight, Trish's life would be in danger too. And if they all died, he would be the only one left. Could he really do that? Let them all die if their plan backfired? He didn't think so. But almost immediately these thoughts turned to dust. Dante was an expert. He was perfect at everything he did. Battling, studying, training. Dante managed to do it all with such focus. Dante would be able to see them all through. Nothing wrong could possibly happen with him around.

            Arson suddenly realised that he was filled with resent. He wanted to have a go at playing the hero. He wanted everyone to respect him a much as everyone respected his grandfather. But what was the point of that? Wasn't that exactly what he wanted to avoid? He didn't want to fight anymore, but yet if he wanted to have the same respect as Dante, he would have no choice but to fight. He felt so confused. 

            He sighed but then took the parcel in his arms. It was heavy, surprisingly heavy. Arson at first tried to neatly unwrap the package, but Trish had been too devious when she had wrapped it up. He grinned, childish excitement flooding his senses as he happily ripped off the paper, abandoning his usual belief in tidiness. After all, it was Christmas; he could allow himself to make a bit of a mess for once. It wasn't as if he couldn't clean it up afterwards.

            Discarding the mass of wrapping paper, he stared down at the square white box on his lap. He curiously opened it up and gasped when he saw the contents that lay inside. 

            An obsidian gun lay in the pristine white of the box. Arson lifted up the pistol in his hands, amazed by how light it now felt. He turned it over and over in his hands, shocked at it's deadly beauty. It was similar to Dante's gun, Ivory, but yet there was a small phoenix engraved on the barrel. A holster also came with it, it lay in the box still. Arson was filled with sadness and then anger.

            Why had Trish bought this for him? Had she simply assumed too that he would simply fight without thinking? Well in that case, they were both wrong. Arson appreciated the fact hat Trish had got him a present, but not the fact that again he was being used as a tool to fight. Who said that he had to take over the business? Maybe he didn't _want _ to. But had anyone ever given a damn about him? No. Never. 

            He got up from his bed and walked outside, tired of staying indoors. It was still dark outside. He sighed as he walked, seething inwardly with frustration and anger. Why couldn't they understand?

            Dante slammed the phone down and then shrugged into his red trench coat. He passed Trish by again, without even a glance in her direction and slammed the door closed. Trish frowned after his retreating back but then tensed up as she felt a demon presence. 

            Dante knew where Arson was. His life signal was strong. As to why he was still walking about, he had no idea, but he could sense that the demon he had sensed just now was moving towards him. He only hoped that Arson would use his common sense and get out of there before anything happened. 

It's short. I know this. But I had the worm blaster thing. _ Not only that but I also deleted my work by mistake too. ^_~;; Not very smart of me, no? Ah well…the next chapter will be longer, I swear it! Toodles for now. I should be working on HITH or my other fic…

_Well you've read it! Now review it, please?_


	16. A visit from an Angel

Chapter 15 

****

            Trish hastily made her way to the phone and started dialling in a number. The phone rang for many times before Trish was relieved to hear the sound of someone picking it up.

            'Dante called you, didn't he?' said Trish immediately, jumping straight to the point. She paused. 'You're going to fight with us?' She drummed her fingers on the side table near by. 'I see. When are you coming?' Trish's hand sped towards a pen that lay on the same desk. Luckily there was a piece of paper near by also. 'I'll be seeing you then.' Without another word, she slammed the phone down and then sat down in shock on the sofa. 

            Though she hated to admit this, she wasn't looking forward to the rendezvous. 

            The moon was beginning to fade, but Arson was still wide awake as he roamed the streets. Anger fuelled his body, his senses were engulfed by it, and flames consumed his heart. Had he been thinking clearly, perhaps he wouldn't have run straight into the claw of the demon.

            Arson snarled and backed off, only retreating a few paces before he crouched down into his fighting stance.

            'Out of my way!' The Blade took no notice but only hissed. Just what Arson didn't want to see. Another demon to fight and destroy. He wanted to run away from all this. From all this senseless fighting. Arson continued to glare at the demon, still crouching, ready to fight if need be. The Blade actually looked at him and then considered it and turned tail. Before it fled, Arson imagined that it's beak of a nose was sniffing. The Blade stiffened and then gave vent to a guttural shriek and charged him. 

            A sudden flash of intuition caused Arson to gasp as he side stepped. Something inside him, possibly his own demon blood allowed him to understand what the Blade had been screaming. 

            'Angel! You shall die!' The threat itself was not all that imposing. But what caused Arson to be filled with dismay was the fact that he would never be able to escape the endless fighting simply because of the blood that ran within his veins. He cursed and neatly side stepped once more as the Blade launched itself at him with amazing speed. Arson did not escape completely unscathed. The Blade managed to lodge a claw deep into his shoulder and slashed downwards, ripping skin and tissue. Arson cried out in pain and tried to back away. The Blade had other ideas and moved forwards with him, ripping at him with the claw that was still embedded in his body. Arson made the mistake of trying to plunge forward to match his weight against that of the Blade's, only causing the wound to deepen. 

            The two swayed there, Arson holding one sword, trying to fend off the Blade that was squeezing him tight, trying to force the air from his lungs. The Blade hissed and then sank its teeth into his neck. This attack wasn't one that Dante had warned him about. In fact, the Blade wasn't as stupid as Dante had made them out to be. It seemed a lot faster then even Dante had been able to describe. 

            Arson cried out again in pain as the Blade dug deeper into his arm, ripping down again so then a large gaping gash had formed from his shoulder, running down to his forearm. Arson tried to move his injured limb, but found that it was excruciating to do so. He screwed his eyes shut in pain as the teeth closed down even tighter.

            The Blade suddenly stiffened and drew away, shrieking in its dinosaur like cry, whipping its claws away from the hybrid, causing him to gasp in pain. Arson knew better then to think that the Blade had simply been merciful. Something had scared it off…and that something was here with him. Arson could tell by the demonic taint that it was far from friendly. He turned around, eyes widening as he saw that he was surrounded.

            Abyss Goats hovered or crouched down around him, their wings thrumming the air. Arson turned around in a full circle, trying to see whether there was any way out for him to escape. There was none. 

            Arson knew then and there that he was in a dangerous predicament. Usually blades were no problem for him. Maybe it had been because he had been caught unawares that the demon had been so strong. Maybe it was because he had been shocked with his new revelation. Whatever the case, he would have normally have been able to take care of himself. 

            Arson held his injured arm with his other hand, wincing. Blood gushed out of the wound, dripping onto the ground. No doubt the new demonic arrivals would find this exciting. If anything, it would make them even more dangerous. Even Dante seemed to get excited at the sight of blood. Once when he was on a hunt, Dante had killed a demon…more came and Dante had found himself caught up in a blood lust. Even the usually ice blue colour of his eyes had turned a faint tinge of red. 

            Arson remembered this…and feared. 

            This was exactly the wrong thing to do. The demons sensed his fright. Immediately, two of the Abyss Goats that were flying unleashed a volley of yellow energy beams that spiralled towards him. Arson cart-wheeled to one side only to find that he had to keep running as more were sent his way. 

            Arson found that he was running in a full circle to escape the spells. The ground under his feet started turning black and then a pillar of evil black souls came reaching up to the sky. Arson was caught up in it and thrown back. He began to run in  zigzags. Just as he was desperately wishing that he had taken Trish's present with him, a red shape hurtled into the circle of demons and whirled into action. 

            With one arm practically useless, Arson found himself standing back to back with Dante. The aquamarine eyes switched onto him for a moment, as cool as ice. 

            'So…what next?' Arson panted. 

            'Took a beating, didn't you?' Arson nodded tiredly. Dante's eyes locked on to the many goatlings that hovered around. He felt Arson move slightly closer to him and shiver. 'Scared?'

            'Worried. They're smarter than before.'

            'Nothing I can't handle.'

            'That's what you think…' whispered Arson. Dante allowed a smile to pass over his face. Sparda hadn't done much of a job training him. Blood continued to drip onto the ground. The Abyss goats charged as one. Arson cried out in terror. Only then, did Dante realise exactly how bad the wound was and of how much blood Arson was beginning to lose. He searched the folds of his coat, only to find that he had no items with him. 

            The two started dodging, Arson trying to concentrate on healing his arm and neck while at the same time trying to attack. Dante was like a whirlwind of red. His sword cut through the air, humming as it moved. Abyss goats fell out of the sky as silver bullets zoomed through the air. 

            But they could not keep this up for long.

            Arson soon forgot about trying to heal as he realised that the demons were ignoring him and closing in on Dante, who was quickly getting weary from battle. Arson decided then and there that he would have to act. He ran towards Dante quickly and stood back to back with him, slashing at the goatlings with one sword, while shooting flames out of his other hand. 

            Several gave vent to bellowing death cries at once as the two hybrids fought. Four were left. But by this time, they were both exhausted. Arson's arm was throbbing with pain and he began to feel light headed and dizzy. Both his own blood and that of the Abyss Goats splattered the stone ground. The sun was beginning to rise, dying the sky blood red. 

            The sun rose up over the horizon, momentarily blinding them both. The Abyss Goats chose this time to attack. Arson's vision cleared to see them coming. With another cry, and acting on pure instinct, he teleported away from them, coming to land behind them. He heard a strangled choked cry from his grandfather and turned to see the demons attacking Dante. He snarled with pure rage and ran towards them, a tornado of embers and fire as he morphed into his demonic form.

            Four death cries cut through the air like a piercing knife. But the damage had already been done.

            Dante was lying face down on the ground. Arson morphed out and blinked at the sight of his elder. He knelt down beside him and rolled him over onto his back. Blood tainted his silver hair red. His eyes lost their red colour and turned back into their aquamarine selves. They flickered slightly as they looked at Arson and then shut. 

            Arson hung his head with shame. Instead of staying to fight alongside his grandfather, he had thought only of himself and had tried to get away safely. He should have known better. He checked over Dante's wounds and was relieved to find that there was nothing seriously wrong with him. He was just exhausted, as was he. Dante had fought and killed much more than he had in that fight. He himself had been simply running away for the majority of the battle, trying to heal. Arson's sighed and waited patiently by is grandfather's side. After only a few minutes, the dizziness began to grow. He clutched his hand to his injured arm trying to stem the flow of blood. It only gushed out over his hand, making it wet and sticky. 

            He somewhat unsteadily got up and felt his neck. At least that had healed. He needed to find something that could help stop the blood. He stopped. But he couldn't just leave Dante there. He sighed and knelt down beside him again. Several minutes passed and Arson grew weaker and weaker. He was so tired…and he felt slightly cold. He shivered slightly and then felt his eyes drooping. At length, his eyes closed, and he fell into his side, in a deep faint. 

            _Arson…Arson…wake up, Arson…arise…_

            I can't…just let me sleep…I'm so tired…             But Arson…if you don't wake up, then something terrible will happen…             Nothing can happen…it's so peaceful here…I feel warm…and safe. When I sleep, I don't have to fight…just let me stay like this…forever.             I can't allow that. You will wake up.             Pain blasted through his body like a cannon. Arson's body jerked and he opened his eyes. The pain began to fade away almost immediately. He was somewhere he didn't recognise. Even worse was the fact that there was some girl standing over him. He didn't recognise her either. He sat up quickly and looked around.             'Dante?'             He's not here. He's safe. As are you.             'But he was with me. I was watching over him.' The girl smiled. The curly black hair seemed to crackle slightly with energy as her calm deep brown, almost black eyes looked down at him. Arson shivered slightly.             We found you. You were dead. Arson's eyes widened. But we couldn't determine whether you belong with us…or elsewhere. Arson shivered again and lowered his eyes.             'Because of my blood, right?'             Yes… Arson watched the woman for a little while longer, trying to think, trying to understand what was happening. The girl smiled and turned away from him slightly. A single brown feather floated down to the ground. Arson looked down at it, realization dawning on him.             'You're an angel?'             Yes…we had to know whether you were really pure of heart. 

            'Who are you? What's your name?'

            _I am an angel of the highest order. An archangel. My name is Ara. _Arson looked up at her and smiled suddenly. He felt happy here and completely at peace. No more fighting. A sudden thought entered his mind. 

            'I'm not allowed in Heaven yet, am I? But you aren't sending me to Hell…what's going to happen to me? Will I be stuck in Limbo or something?' Ara laughed softly and reached out towards him to hold his hands. Arson smiled happily as he heard her laugh. Her hands felt so nice and warm against his own cold ones. Suddenly, a burning pain entered his arm. 

            _This will hurt…squeeze my hand tight if need be…_

For a few minutes, Arson felt nothing just the burning pain. He blinked and looked at Ara, who had closed her eyes as though in concentration. Suddenly, his body seized up. He tried to move away but pain ran through him each time he moved. His vision was blacking out with pain. Eventually, he could hear nothing but his own screams of pain. Something was sliding down his cheek but he wasn't entirely sure yet what it was. He felt someone's arms wraps around him, holding him close. The pain began to fade again. His vision became less hazy and became more clear. He realised that Ara was hugging him close, and that he had been forced into tears. 

            _I know…it hurts a lot. But it had to be done. _Arson was shaking with pain. His shoulders heaved as he drew in deep breaths, trying to calm himself. 

            'W-why?'

            _We needed to unlock your powers. The ones that have been hidden deep within because of your impure blood. _

'Ara…' 

            _You won't feel any different at first…but soon you'll realise what a help this will be._

'What's going to happen to me?' Arson found he was unable to think straight. 

            _I'm sending you back. You've been given your life back. We need to determine where you belong. _Arson pulled away slightly, and looked up at her. He wasn't free yet. The only way he could ever be free was if he died. 

            'Please…please don't send me back. I can't do this anymore. I just can't…fight like he does.'

            _Your grandfather?_

'He can do that…fight day after day after day…on and on? I can't.'

            _Arson…don't you ever think he tires of it? For he does. But he fights all the same. Because he doesn't want anyone to go through the pain of what he did. _Arson's eye narrowed.

            'He has a reason…I don't.'

            _So you say…what about those you love? You need to protect them. Or help them. _Arson sighed and then nodded. Pain returned to his arm. He could feel something wet trickling down it again. His eyes closed and he leant against her. Ara seemed to know how he was feeling and wrapped her arms gently around him. 

            _It will all work out for the best…you'll see, Arson…_Arson didn't open his eyes. He was slumped against her. No move or sound came from the hybrid. _Arson…Arson? Arson, wake up! Please wake up!_

Arson's eyes snapped open to find himself lying on a bed. A bandage had been wrapped tightly around his arm. Xyphos and Trish were bending over him, Trish dabbing at his forehead with a warm but damp towel. Xyphos was standing behind her, watching him nervously. When she saw he had opened his eyes, she flung her arms around him and started crying. 

            'Arson it was awful…' Arson moved his good arm so then he was holding her, despite still lying on his back. Trish looked relieved to see him awake. Arson arched his back slightly in pain, screwing his eyes shut. 

            'Argh…my whole body aches…' Trish continued to gently wipe at his forehead. Xyphos looked alarmed by this and looked at Trish, who only shook her head. She gently placed a hand on Arson's chest, feeling his heartbeat. It was somewhat weak and unsteady but Trish had a feeling that Arson would be okay. Which was amazing considering when she had brought him in, Arson's heart wasn't beating. His body had been ice cold and limp. Trish had thought he was dead. 

            Arson's eyes had closed again, but now thinking about the beautiful angel that had visited him, he couldn't help but wonder whether it was all a dream.


	17. The New Arrival

I really am pleased that I have been getting some reviews for this. From what I've figured out, the humour fics always seem to get more reviews then these serious ones…so I'm thrilled and happy that I've got as many as I have. Thank you to everyone.

_I realise that perhaps Chapter 15 got messed up. I really have no idea what happened…Ara's speech was all meant to be in italics, even in that first paragraph…but for some reason…it did not work as planned._

_I also didn't write any welcome or ending notes. So here they are now. ^_^_

_Dante, Trish and Xyphos do not belong to me. I would love to have Dante as my own best friend…but it is not going to happen. Instead I shall have to make do with my own characters. Acedeca belongs to me…and so does Arson. ^_^ I hate to have to bring this up, but it is a sad fact that after this fiction is done, there will be no more Arson, apart from Havoc In The House. I think perhaps everyone is getting annoyed with my OC with him being as annoyingly cute or angsty or just plain annoying so it's time I give him a rest._

_As to what he's going to do in his spare time, scares me. I sure hope he won't try to set up a strawberry farm or something equally as pointless…_

_            Without further ado, here is Chapter 16…please read and review. Thank you._

**Chapter 16**

****

            Trish stayed by Arson throughout the night, as did Xyphos. Dante was already up and about, seemingly unconcerned about his grandson's health. Arson luckily, did not have a fever, but he was still extremely weak from the amount of blood he had lost. 

            Xyphos looked towards Trish in curiosity.

            'Why didn't we just take Arson to the hospital?' she said. Trish shook her head to show she didn't want to answer her and that she wasn't in the mood. Xyphos continued to pester her all the same. 'Trish? It would have been a lot more easier for us if we had just taken him to the hospital you know…' 

            The expression on Trish's face would have made even Dante silent. 

            'Arson doesn't seem to have an ounce of human blood in him.'

            'So?'

            'So he needed a blood transfusion and they would have said….if they took a sample of his blood…and found out that it was…abnormal…they'd start to wonder.' Xy sighed and nodded. 

            'But what if-'

            'He won't lose more blood.' Xy blinked, seeing how snappy she was. 

            'Is something wrong?'

            'No.'

            'But-'

            'Nothing's wrong, okay? Jeez…' Xyphos pouted slightly and turned back to look at Arson. 

            '…He looks so pale…is he going to be okay?'

            'Stop with the questions already!!!' cried Trish, standing up abruptly. Xy shrank down. Trish looked at her and sighed before sitting down. 'I'm sorry…I'm just jumpy I guess…' Xy didn't say anything but looked fixedly at Arson as he slept. At length, she decided to talk.

            'Why are you so jumpy?'

            'Because of the person that Dante's called up…'

            '…who is it?'

            'Never you mind,' she snapped again. Xyphos shrank down yet again. Arson stirred painfully and opened his eyes before smiling at the two. He stopped when he saw Trish's agitation stamped on her face.

            'Trish…' Her face softened slightly as she looked down at him. 

            'How are you feeling?' Arson's eyes drooped close slightly. 

            'Tired…dizzy…' Xyphos seemed to loom into his vision. He blinked slowly, trying to clear his vision. He struggled to sit up but then failed, flopping back down on his bed, breathing heavily. Xyphos gently hold of his hand and smiled at him. 

            'Arson…don't try to get up just yet…okay? You just need to relax. You lost a lot of blood.' Arson nodded, knowing this but tried to raise his head again. Trish shook her head and grabbed hold of a pitcher of juice that was standing nearby. 

            'Just try and drink a little of this. Don't take too much though. The last thing we need is you getting sick because of liquid.' Xyphos backed off and watched interestedly as Trish held a cup to Arson's mouth, helping him to sip from it. After he had drank a little, she held it away. Xyphos had always wondered whether Arson had no need for drink. She knew how the water affected him, and she wondered whether drink affected him in the same way. Apparently so. She felt herself fill up with pity for the hybrid. 

            Arson rested himself back down but watched Trish through half closed eyes. 

            'What's wrong?' Trish glared at him. Arson matched her gaze with a weak one. Trish sighed. 

            'What's with all the questions?'

            'We're worried about you…' whispered Arson. 'I just want to know what's wrong.' Trish sighed and then saw that she had no escape from the probing questions.             'Dante called up someone to help out with this Acedeca problem. To be quite honest, I'm not happy about it.'

            'Who is he?'

            'She.' Arson quirked his eyebrows, much in the same way Dante did. Trish saw this and couldn't hide a smile. 

            'Ah,' said Arson simply. 

            'It's not like that, Arson.'

            'Okay, so why don't you like her?'

            'Because…well…' Trish glared at him again and abruptly left the room. Arson sighed and shook his head. 

            'I guess we'll have to wait until later…' he murmured to himself softly. Xyphos nodded her agreement. 

            'She's been acting strange all day.'

            'That's not like her…she has an attitude…but not that much of one…' Arson shivered slightly and burrowed down under the covers. Xyphos looked at him in concern. 

            'Are you okay?'

            'Mmm…'       

            'Arson…'

            'I'm tired…It'll pass…'

            'You heard what Trish said. You need your rest.'

            'What I need…is some vital stars…not rest…' Xyphos sighed and shook her head with exasperation. Arson was getting more and more like Dante sometimes. The way he quirked his eyebrows, his facial expressions and sometimes, even the phrases he used. Despite the hair and eye colour, Arson had the name Sparda practically written on his face. Arson smiled at her drowsily, his eyes drooping. Xy smiled and gently ran her fingers through his hair. A minute later, Arson was fast asleep.

            Trish grabbed a short leather jacket and her car keys before heading out of the building. Dante watched her go and shook his head quietly. He supposed, that he could have tried to ask someone else for help…but the fact was he never got too close to anyone. Asking for help would have sounded strange from him. In fact, the word "help" sounded as though an alien was saying it when the word came from his mouth. Dante had never needed much assistance, or so he liked to think.

            But now, as he thought to himself, he _had_ needed help. Trish had helped him during his time on Mallet Island. Trish had saved his sorry ass once when Mundus had tried to kill Dante once and for all. Had it not been for Trish suddenly jumping into the way to push him from harm, and had he not seen Trish lying in his arms as still as death, perhaps then he would have never had enough anger, energy and grief to turn into that full blooded demon. 

            Dante eventually dozed off, but awoke again to hear Trish grumbling under her breath and stomping back into the building. He heard two or three bags slam heavily into the wooden floor. He decided then and there that he should go and investigate. 

            Trish was standing near the kitchen, two heavy bags at her feet. Dante turned around to see who it was Trish was glaring at. Dante quirked his eyebrows and barely suppressed one of his famous smirks. 

            A woman was standing at the doorway, looking about looking not the least bit perturbed by the skulls that decorated the walls.  Red hair covered one emerald green eye, the loose pony tail drooping onto her shoulder. Dante took a moment to note Trish's angry face once more before he walked up to Lucia, nodding at her formally.

            Arson also emerged out of the room he was in, supported by a curious Xyphos. All four stared at the newcomer. Lucia looked at Arson in bewilderment and frowned at Dante, seeing the similarity between the two faces. Dante said nothing but looked out of the window distantly again.

            'There's not much time for questions. Soon someone's going to die.' Dante looked grim faced as he continued to watch the surroundings of the building. The question was, would Acedeca perish? Or would they?

            _That's it for now. I might be a while trying to update my other two fics. The reason being because quite frankly I'm still not feeling very funny at all. Just tired and depressed and all…I guess that's how I'm probably churning out all this stuff…whatever the case…I'm sorry…_


	18. Breaking of Hearts

_            Well another day and another chapter…started my new school…it's very VERY hard for me to settle in…(sigh) My blog is getting ignored as well._

www.silver-bell.nu/mystical

            The address of my blog. No personal secrets or anything. I was also thinking of changing my pen name to my real name. (shrugs) What do you guys think about it? Gimme an answer in your reviews…if you bother to review this. Arson and Rayne belong to me whereas Dante and Trish and Xy and Lucia do not. Lovely…

Chapter 17 

****

            The day was crisp, cold but clear. The sun shone but did not give out any light. Dante stared out of the window, blatantly ignoring the sound of Trish and Lucia yelling at each other at the top of their voices. Xyphos sat with him, a mixture of stunned amusement on her face. 

            'Don't they ever stop?'

            '…no…' sighed Dante resignedly. 'They'll eventually stop…when it actually comes down to the fight that is.' Xyphos pulled a face. 

            'We have to keep listening to them arguing in the meantime?'

            'You have it easy. You don't live here. I do.' Xyphos actually couldn't help but feel sorry for the red clad demon hunter. 

            Arson too, was finding the whole thing rather taxing. Trish had forced Arson to stay in bed until the day of the actual fight. Lucia however, had other ideas as to which was the best treatment for him. 

            'You need plenty of exercise!'

            'He needs rest! He's had enough exercise!'

            'But resting will give him stiff limbs!'

            'Exercising will make him too tired! He's just lost a lot of blood you know!'

            'In that case, exercise is the best thing he can have!' And so it went on. Trish and Lucia stood at the foot of his bed constantly bickering and fighting. Arson once tried to interrupt but they immediately started yelling louder. Arson had given up and as a last desperate attempt to drown them out, shoved his head under the pillow. It was no surprise it didn't work.

            Lucia and Trish were not the only problem. Xyphos also seemed to have lost the magic she had possessed before. No longer could she make him feel happy, and feel as though the struggle of his life had been worth it. For some reason, when Xy came near him, he could only turn away with something akin to anger with himself. Was it revulsion? Arson suddenly knew why it was that he no longer felt able to bond with Xyphos. She was…too much of a demon…too pure a demon…

            Arson sighed. Why did he feel so miserable? This wasn't right. Just because he had met someone who was more what he wanted, it didn't mean he could just leave Xy like this…he couldn't. She didn't even know how he felt. That Angel…Ara…he had felt so warm while he had been with her. So loved and calm and peaceful. But with Xy, he always felt some kind of energy coming from her, bubbling about as though ready to burst from her. She was always…there. Always in his face, always asking questions, always bouncing around.

            He slowly closed his eyes and rested his head back on the pillows. He breathed out deeply and listened to the sounds of the normal world, the one that lay outside. An ice cream truck drove past, it's cheery tune playing loudly, alerting all the children nearby. Some ignored it and carried on kicking a football around. Arson strained his ears and could even hear the thud of foot against ball. The clinking of Venetian Blinds as the wind ruffled them…and somewhere, in the distance, the mellow sounds of the church bells.

            Arson was filled with a sudden longing. How he wished he could be a part of that outside world. Not just to walk amongst it on the way to some mission…but to actually share the same pleasures as those people outside. The people who were normal. Unexpected tears came to his eyes as he thought of all he was denied of having. 

            He remembered those shows kids would watch on TV…Superman, Spiderman…they all had powers. Funny…he had powers…and he wasn't thrilled at all. It was strange how people often wished to have the things they couldn't. The normal children wanted to be abnormal and have all these "cool" powers…and as for him? Well, he just wanted a chance to roam free without fear of losing control of himself…

            Every single day, without letting the others know, he had wished that he could go and see the Church, and see what it looked like inside. Dante had forbidden him, despite one half of him being human…but Dante had said that as he was half demon, it hurt him to set foot upon Holy Ground…Dante had said that he didn't know whether the Hoy Ground would hurt Arson too…he had said he didn't want to risk it.

            He wanted…he wanted more then anything else, to feel as though he belonged. Being a half of two opposites had it's drawbacks. He was an outcast where ever he went. The demons hated him and wanted to kill him because of his heavenly bearings. The Angels mostly despised him…but not Ara though…not Ara…

            Arson opened his eyes, dreaming about the mysterious Angel who had revived him and had given him back his life. He hadn't noticed that Xy had come into the room. Arson quickly shut his eyes. 

            _Keep silent. Maybe she'll think you're asleep…_

'Arson?' _Don't speak…don't answer her…she'll go soon…_ 'Arson, I know you're awake.' _Damn._

            He was forced to slowly open his eyes. Xy was watching him piercingly. Her face seemed to relax from the hardened expression it had taken on. She actually came and sat down on the bed and put a plate of food on the bedside table. Arson eyed it and wearily looked up at Xyphos. 

            'So they're feeding me solids now?'

            'Yep…no more soup for you.'

            'Thank God…' There was an awkward silence. Xy continued to watch him. Arson looked away from her. 

            'Arson?' He didn't reply. 'Arson.'

            'Yes?'

            'What's wrong?'

            'Nothing…'

            'Bull shit.' Arson looked towards her at the unexpected curse. 'Something is wrong with you. Tell me.'

            'You won't understand.'

            'How can I understand if you won't even try to tell me?' Arson tried to sit up, and managed so with great difficulty. 

            'Trust me. You won't understand.' Xy furiously stood up, sending the plate crashing down onto the floor. Arson flinched as the plate shattered. 

            'Talk to me! We used to be so close! But now ever since the attack you've changed!'

            'I've changed?'

            'Don't make me repeat myself Arson! Stop playing with me like this!' Arson said nothing. 'Tell me what's wrong!'

            'Everything is…'

            'What do you _mean_ everything is?'

            _Everything…Dante, Trish, you, me…us…It's wrong that I'm staying here…it's wrong that you're sharing a place with me. Don't you understand? No you don't…it's like a circle. You, Dante, Lucia, Trish…you're all in this circle…and then there's me. I'm outside. Why? Because I don't belong. I'm not like you. I'm not a full demon. I'm an…I'm an opposite._

Xy saw the tears that had started running down Arson's face, and saw the pale shade of grey his face had turned. A sudden stab of realisation hit her in the stomach, winding her. 

            'It's me…isn't it?' Arson nodded. 

            'Not just you.'

            '…why now?'   

            'I…I met someone…'

            'Who?'

            'An Angel…like me.' Xy shrieked with anger. 

            'You're _not _ an angel!!! You're a demon!'

            'I'm not a demon either!'

            'Then what are you?'

            'I'm a half breed! A mongrel! A hybrid! Call me what you will! I'm no demon!' Xy's eyes narrowed. 

            'No Arson…you're right…you're not a demon. You're a fool.'

            Outside…thunder crashed. 


	19. Broken

            Right…well…This fic is nearly finished. I don't know how many chapters are left. Probably three more. And then I'll be starting a brand new series. I already have a plan for a brand new OC who hopefully might take over Arson's crown. 

_            Anyway…(sigh)_

_            Dante, Trish, Xyphos and the name Ara does not belong to me. Lucia does not belong to me either. All I have in my possession are my clothes, my hair, my teeth my nails and my PC…and Arson and Rayne. It seems a lot of people hate those two…_

_            …I love 'em though…isn't that all that matters? Isn't it? _

_            Also, I still can't seem to think of any funniness, even though I've had one or two ideas. Thanks Shanisasha!_

_            A big thank you to Vampy for telling me what needs working on. Well I've got a severe case of writer's block, you always tell me what could be improved. _

**Chapter 18**

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            Dante, Trish and Lucia all looked at each other in silence as Xyphos stormed out of the room Arson was in. Dante listened as Xyphos slammed the door shut, causing the windows to shake alarmingly. Dante waited until Xy had clomped upstairs before putting his ear to Arson's door. There was silence. 

            'What d'you think they were arguing about?' asked Lucia. For once Trish didn't yell at her. 

            'I don't know…it's the first time they've had a fight though…'

            'He's been acting strange though…' said Dante quietly. 'I can sense the resentment against us. But we haven't even done anything wrong.'

            'He told me he doesn't want to fight,' said Trish immediately. Dante sighed. 

            'That again.' Trish nodded.

            'It keeps bugging him.'

            'Yeah…' Lucia stayed well out of the discussion. Somehow, she felt as though she didn't belong. It was the truth though wasn't it? Lucia was only here simply because Dante had needed help. It was only right that she did not try and interrupt. This was a family problem it seemed like. She wasn't a part of it. 

            'He told me he understood that he had to fight…'

            'The difference between having to fight and wanting to fight is different, Dante.'  Dante couldn't understand what Trish meant. He had always enjoyed the fight and he had never been able to think about what he would do once he stopped fighting, despite the fact that he had been told that Arson was the one who was going to carry on with the Sparda legacy once he…got tired? But what if he never got tired? That was ridiculous, he already was. 

            He heard a sudden sound from inside Arson's bedroom. He was crying. It wasn't crying exactly, more kind of like a whimpering of sorts. Whatever it was, he was upset. Dante motioned for Trish and Lucia to stay behind while he went to investigate. 

The boy had curled up, shivering. 

            'Arson.'

            'Leave me alone.'

            'No.'    

            'Just please…leave me alone.'

            'I can't do that.'

            'Why not?'

            'Because, Arson. I want to know what's wrong with you.' Arson looked up at him and scowled. 

            'You heard us fighting.'

            'You haven't been reduced to tears for a long time.' Arson said nothing but slowly looked at the wall. 

            'I…just wish sometimes I hadn't been born…It would have made things so much easier.'

            'You're hiding something, aren't you?' Arson looked into Dante's eyes and contemplated lying. But those aquamarine eyes of his seemed to know his intentions and narrowed slightly. Arson gulped and told him everything. About how he had died, met Ara, had felt so safe and warm and loved, and hadn't wanted to come back. Dante's eyes had looked surprised but then they had hardened. Arson had finished pouring out everything in a whisper and lowered his eyes, feeling ashamed of himself. He could tell by the look on Dante's face that he was anything but sympathetic.

            'I see,' was all he said. Arson looked up at him quickly, surprised. 

            'You understand?'

            'No.' Arson's face fell as Dante bore down on him, blue eyes flashing with irritation and anger. 'After everything we've done for you you're throwing it all back in our faces. I think it's time you get your priorities right.' Arson flinched as thunder crashed outside. Dante remained motionless, watching him balefully. He turned and then left the room abruptly. 

            'Dante, wait!' Dante chuckled darkly.

            'I thought you would have grown up by now. But you're still the same whining brat you were before. All you ever do is whinge and moan. We should never have done what we did for you. I should have left you where I found you. You should have stayed with your mother. She would have beaten some sense into you. In fact, I don't blame her for wanting to kill you.'

            'No!' 

Arson woke up, gasping for breath. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. Dante was standing by his side, looking concerned. Arson saw him and flinched, scrambling as far away as he could before he was virtually on the further side of the bed, about to fall off.

            'What happened?' Arson shook his head, terrified. Dante was frowning deeply by this time. 'Arson?' The boy had dissolved into tears.

            'Please…please stay away from me…' 

            'I heard you crying and I came to see what's wrong. You're angry with us, aren't you?' Arson didn't answer his question. 

            'Why! Why did you say all those things to me!?' Dante blinked and then sat down. Arson flinched and curled up, as though trying to protect himself, a hedgehog rolled up. 

            'What things?'

            'About Mom…how you shouldn't have…and how I was still a…a brat…' Arson's breath was catching in his throat. He was hysterical with fear. For a minute, when Dante looked at him, he had turned back to the age of seven. 'You said that I should have died…that you don't blame her.' Dante shook his head, his face serious. 

            'You had a nightmare.'

            'No…it was real…' Dante looked at him in exasperation as Arson shivered and quietened down. 

            'Get some rest.' He was about to go when Arson suddenly shivered and latched onto his arm. He looked back down at Arson and frowned, only to see that Arson was shaking his head. 'It was a nightmare. You should know me well enough by now that I don't think that. I never have done.' Arson still hadn't relinquished his grip on Dante. The demon slayer sighed and then smiled. 'Come on, you're being silly.'

            'It wasn't real…right?'

            'Right.' 

            'You're not angry with me?'

            'No.'

            'Good.' Dante felt Arson relax slightly against him. He got up to go but then felt Arson's grip tighten on him. Trish came in at the point and sighed when he saw Arson's tearstained face. 

            'A nightmare?' Dante nodded. Arson whimpered slightly. 

            'Where's Xy?' Xyphos came crashing in just then and then glared at him as she saw the tears drying on his face. This irritated her for some reason. 

            'You're such a cry baby.' Arson had sat up by this point but he froze as though he had just been stung. He glared at her. Dante and Trish shook their heads wildly at Xy, trying to get her to stop. Xy glared at Arson. 

            'As soon as things don't go your way, you start to cry.' Arson said nothing but listened to her. 'Your mother was awful to you. She was insane! I can't blame you…I guess…'

            'Just…just shut up!' Trish looked at Dante, desperately. Dante motioned for Trish to leave. 

            'You're defending her? Even after everything she did to you? Your father was an ass too!'

            'Don't talk about my father like that!' Dante was now glaring at Xyphos with irritation. His mind began whirling. They needed more power to beat Acedeca. Arson was too weak now to be of much use. Lucia, Trish, Xyphos and Dante, along with what little strength Arson had left was not enough to defeat the new threat. They needed more. Dante snarled. 

            'Both of you, shut up! We need to work together.' But Arson wasn't listening. Xyphos had insulted his family, his parents. She was not going to get away with this. Arson had leapt out of the bed and had tackled her to the ground. 

            'Shut up!!! SHUT UP!!! Don't you ever fucking talk about my father like that!' Xy looked at him scornfully. 

            'And who the hell are you to stop me?' Arson slapped her. Xy gasped with shock and pain. Dante had got to his feet, looking as stunned as she was at his grandson's uncontrollable rage. 

            'Arson!' Arson turned to look at him, his eyes shining red. Dante knew then and there that this dangerous situation had got a hell of a lot worse. Arson growled and turned back to Xy, struggling for self control as the demon raved to be unleashed. 

            'I HATE YOU!'

            'Even so, I don't hate you,' said Xy, her voice a whisper. Her eyes were wide, she looked frightened but yet pitying at the same time. 

            'Stop lying to me you bitch!'

            'Look, I said some nasty shit to you but that doesn't mean I hate you!' Arson's eyes were confused, they were turning back to brown.  

            'But…you…you called me…you don't hate me?'

            'No, I never hated you.' Arson blinked. 

            'I don't understand.' Xy's anger flared up again. Dante thought it better if he just watched what would happen. Hopefully the whole thing would blow over. 

            'I broke your trust.' Dante's attention pricked up. Well this was news. Who could he have possibly met who would make him more interested? 

        'Arson that was a dream. You have never met an angel over here…well not since Dawn.' Arson's eyes had filled with tears. 

        'I just don't get it…I don't understand.' Xy looked at him with irritation.

        'Have you just openly ignored and taken for granted all this attention I've been giving you?' Arson also looked angry. 

        'You annoy me! You're always there…just bouncing about like a dog gone out of control!'

        'So now I'm a dog?'

        'No!'

        'You could have told me to leave you alone. You never said anything! I thought you enjoyed that.' Arson shook his head. 

        'Sometimes, I like to be by myself. And besides, I didn't want to hurt your feelings.' Arson squirmed uncomfortably, knowing exactly how stupid he sounded. Dante was about to let out a derisive snort but he contained himself. Love…he had no time for it. It made you act stupid, as the two teenagers were showing. 

        'Hurt my feelings? Well you didn't seem to care when you hit me just now!' Arson looked at her guiltily but then his eyes turned red and then black again. 

        'I'm no better than her then am I? I just…I just GOT OUT OF CONTROL!' Arson crouched down where he had stood, cradling his head. He was now quite far from Xyphos. Both Dante and her looked at each other in shock. Xyphos started to walk towards him. 

        'Arson please…' Arson felt a crazed sob escape his throat. Before he knew what he was doing, he was lashuing out at her with his bare fists, just trying to get her away. 

        'No! Stay away from me…just STAY AWAY!' Flames began to dance around him. Dante charged forward, holding him from behind, trying to ignore the burning sensation that was playing on his body. Arson snapped and lunged, desperate to escape, to run from them forever. 

        'Arson! Calm down! Just calm down!' Arson screamed out as the terrifying mixture of rage and fear triggered off the demon blood. The flames began dancing more. Dante cried out in pain as he was blasted back against the wall. When Dante opened his eyes and cleared his vision, the black and red demon stood before him, wings ragged and spread out. Xy had backed up against the wall but hadn't left the room. Pity shone in her eyes as she looked at the demon as he flexed his wings, roared out again and fled. Xy blinked and then sighed, and walked over to Dante, who was still against the wall. 

        'Are you okay, Dante?'

        'Yeah…but I'm not the problem right now. We were going to fight today. We need Arson back here.'

        'Was that why Arson's so depressed?'

        'No. You were. And the fact that he doesn't even want to fight anymore…against even a puppet…'

        The wind blew hard against the demon that stood at the cliff top. Below him, the waves pounded on the pillar of rock that made up the cliff. Arson had been standing here for some time and the weather was steadily growing chillier. Arson sank to his knees and then sat down properly. The thought kept haunting him. He couldn't believe it…he was turning into Ophelia…the very person he had strived not to become. Was it true what they said after all? That certain characteristics passed down into children? Was Ophelia's madness going to be passed down to him? He was terrified of the thought and he wished that he could die.

        That was it. He could end it all now. Arson scrambled on his belly to the edge of the cliff and looked down. The sight of water terrified him but the thought of becoming Ophelia was even worse. It was either that or…jumping. 

        'I wouldn't if I were you,' said a soft voice. Arson got to his feet and turned around. Ara stood behind him, brown wings folded behind her back. The look in her eyes was one of immense sadness. 'I know why you want to die…but you'll never be as bad as her. Besides, if you died, then what would become of everyone else? They need you.' It had started to rain.

        'They only need me to fight.' Ara's eyes hardened. 

        'Wake up, Arson! They don't need you just for fighting. They need you because you're a part of their family. Some might even consider death themselves if you went!' Arson snorted. The thought was hilarious…but untrue. 

        'It is true, Arson.' Arson's eyes widened and he looked at her. 

        'Stay out of my head!' The rain continued to pound down against them.

        'No. You're being thoughtless. Dante…he would start to wonder whether he cared enough about you and whether it was him who drove you to death. And what about Trish? Is this the way you're going to repay her for all the kindness she showed you? She was the one who became the mother figure in your life after everything you were put through as a child. She loves you more than anything else. She'd be heartbroken if you left. And Xy…'

        'Hates me.'

        'No…didn't you see? Even though you hurt that girl, she was still concerned for your welfare. You refuse to fight for them, and they don't hate you for it, whatever you may think. They love you.' Arson suddenly felt small. He wrapped his arms about himself, shivering slightly despite the warm feeling that was coming over him again. That feeling of…peace?

        'That day, when I died. I didn't want to go back.'

        'I know.'

        'I wanted to stay with you. Just because I felt so much at peace…and I felt safe. That no one was going to hurt me anymore…'

        'You still fear her don't you?' Thunder crashed and Ara could see the whites of Arson's eyes. They were dull, lifeless.

        'My mother? Yes. I know she can't get me if I stay with you. If I die, I'd be safe.' He took a shaky breath. Ara wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close to her. 'Please…please…take me away from all this…'

        'There's a reason why you're still here Arson. You realized yourself that wherever you go, you'll always be fighting. If you came with me, they'd still hate you because of your impure blood. You have to prove yourself.' Arson was silent. 'You're a good person…we all know that but we have to take precautions.' She tightened her grip on him. Arson's eye were completely dry, they had been so the whole time since he had left. 

        'You might meet and stay in a different place…but now is not that time.'

        'I could make it that time.'

        'Destroying yourself would not get you to where I dwell.'

        '…what would happen to me?'

        'You'd be banished to the Underworld.' Arson's brown eyes widened. 'You don't deserve that punishment.'

        'No matter what would happen, Ara…I'd still be sent to Hell…I've done terrible things in my past. You know that.'

        'That wasn't your fault. Suicide is a cardinal sin. So far, the good deeds you have committed far outweigh the bad. And everyone sins, whether intentionally or unconsciously.' Arson looked up at her at that point. 

        'Even you?' Ara looked hesitant but then nodded. 

        'Yes…even me.' Ara looked up and turned her head. 'Your friends are waiting for you. You should go to them.' The torrent of water had worsened. Ara spread out her wings, flapped them once and then took off. Arson blinked at the golden aura that had surrounded her, as the mist and the cloud enveloped her completely, obscuring her from sight. Arson shuddered and sank to his feet. He hadn't realized that he had been using Ara as a support. 

        He realized how cold it had become. It wasn't exactly paining him, just draining him. He felt oddly dizzy, as though he were no longer in control of his own actions. He heard something move behind him, but he did not respond to the movement. 

        'Guess who's back to bounce around?'

        'Xy…' Arson tried to stand up again, managed it, tried to take a step forward, but sank to his knees. 'I can't…'

        'Can't what?' Xy bent down so then her face was level with his. Arson saw the concern but waved his hand around, motioning to the rain. 

        'I would have tried to go back sooner but then this…' Xyphos smiled. 

        'Sitting out here in the middle of it isn't a good idea.' Arson smiled wearily at her joke but didn't answer. Instead, he tried to get up again. Xy slung her arm under his and allowed herself to be used as a support. She frowned as she felt Arson shiver against her. The two walked on in silence, Arson limping slightly. 

        'Xy?'

        'Yes?'

        'I'm sorry.'

        'For what?'

        'For everything I did and said to you.' Xy also looked saddened. 

        'I had no idea I was annoying you so badly…I feel so bad about it now…'

        'I don't know what came over me…I think it's becoming uncontrollable again.' Xy knew what he was talking about. She was scared for him too, but she felt that now was not a good time to tell him that. Instead, she tried to allay his fears. 

        'I think you just got too mad, that's all. I mean, I _did _diss your dad and everything…' The two continued to struggle on. Xy looked up at the sky and frowned, she felt as though it were punishing her for something. She quickly pushed this thought to the back of her mind. She was being over imaginative. 

        It seemed an age until Devil May Cry came up in the distance. As the two came up to the door, it was hurled open and a pair of strong hands hauled them inside, dumping them on the floor none too gently. 

        'Thanks.' A grunt from Dante's direction. Xy ignored this and started to squeeze out the water from her hair. Trish and Lucia swooped down upon her. 

        'Let it dry naturally!'

        'No get a hair dryer!' Xy stood up and fumed. 

        'Will you please leave me alone?' Trish nodded and backed off. 

        'All right…' Lucia however was not to be deterred. 

        'After that incident you should talk to someone!' In reponse to her suggestion, Xyphos groaned and walked away from them, in an attempt to ignore their nagging. 

        'My advice is to get some rest,' said a gruff voice. Xyphos turned around to see the ice blue eyes staring into her own. She smiled weakly. 

        'That's the best idea…' her voice lowered. 'Is Arson going to be okay?'           

        'He will be.' Xyphos looked into his face, trying to gauge his mood. But he was impassive, his face looked as though it were carved of stone. She turned and left, casting one last look at Arson, who had just closed his eyes as he lay on the floor. 

        Dante hauled up the boy and with an uncharacteristic gentleness placed him on a bed. Arson turned onto his side and curled up as he continued to sleep. Still, maintaining his tenderness, Dante put the quilt over him but then turned to look out of the window, his eyes distant. 

        Arson was going to fight…he would see to that. But even with five people…or more like four and a half, as Arson had been so weakened, their power combined was not going to be enough. A sudden idea entered his head. Leaving Arson's bedroom, he opened a letter that he had kept in one of his coat pockets. He read it through, and then picked up the phone, dialing a number in slowly, with a certain reluctance that was unreal to find in such a man. 

        He could not believe he was resorting to this.  


	20. Transformations

            No one belongs to me. You guys all know that. The only one that does is Arson and Rayne. The name Ara doesn't belong to me either. I took the name from a very close friend of mine, who said it would be okay to use her OCs name for this purpose. 

            **Chapter 19**

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            **Chapter 19**

****

            Trish and Lucia were both sitting in the kitchen, mugs of hot coffee resting in their hands. They had both just stopped training. Dante had stayed awake all night, doing what they did not dare to ask. Dante's eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, making his eyes look even more dangerous then what they already were. The ice blue eyes, normally lacking of emotion were now tinged slightly red, giving him a look of insanity. 

            Lucia sighed as she sat in the homely kitchen. Trish was looking around, wondering, not for the first time how they had managed to keep it tidy. Back in America, the office kitchen was a tip. Full of cockroaches and other insects. Over here, everything was clean. Sparkling. It didn't make any sense. Trish frowned slightly. Why the hell was she thinking about a kitchen?

            Xyphos soon made her way downstairs. She looked tired as well. Lucia frowned. 

            'Didn't have a good sleep?' Xy laughed scornfully. 

            'No time for sleep. I was training. With Dante.' Lucia shrugged and then looked away, thinking. Trish said nothing either, thinking that it was a good thing that Xy had got a little training. God knows, she looked as though she needed it. But then again, looks were deceiving weren't they?

            Xy had a strange determined gleam in her eyes, but then it vanished quite suddenly as she dashed out of the kitchen and into the room where Arson was staying, while they spent time at Dante's place. He was fast asleep, his body curled up around his pillow, his head resting on the other. Xy gently touched his hair and found to her relief that it was completely dry. She went on to touch his forehead. He felt slightly warmer than her hand, but Xy knew that this was only normal because of his abilities.  

            The doorbell suddenly rang. Xyphos mistaken brought her hand down hard on Arson's cheek, startled by the sudden unexpected sound. Arson blinked and woke up, blinking up at Xy owlishly. 

            'Sorry!'

            'What was _that _for?'

            'Seriously, I didn't mean to!' Arson yawned and stretched out. He was about to get out of the bed when he quirked his eyebrows at Xy. 

            'A little privacy here?' Xy looked at him witheringly but then moved out of the bedroom. Dante was at the door. Xy blinked as she saw him take a deep breath and let then it out. Dante repeated this several more times before he put his hand on the door. Xy could have sworn that he was shaking a little. No, she must have been imagining it. Dante was never scared. 

            Dante slowly opened the door. Xy's eyebrows raised and her eyes widened as she saw the person who stood at the entrance. His eyes were a cold, pale green, the exact same shape of Dante's eyes. His hair was slightly longer than Dante's, flopping into his eyes. He flicked his hair back with a natural arrogance but the hair just fell back into place. His mostly silver hair was streaked with black. The clothes he wore were similar to Dante's style. The coat he wore reached down to his knees, a deep royal blue in colour, his trousers black, the tank top he wore black too. Across his back, a long spear was fastened. 

            The man smiled lazily. 

            'Well hello, Dad.' Dante nodded stiffly. They had met once before, but the two had always been distant. Each had gone their own separate way after that brief meeting. 'So…what's the problem? You didn't call me all the way here for nothing.'

            'I figured you were lazing about in Australia. You'd be of better use helping us against Acedeca.' Kryder yawned. 

            'If this guy is such a big threat, then how come I haven't heard of him before?'

            'For the same reason as I. Acedeca is a demon from more then four millennia ago.  Before my time. He fought against Sparda…and apparently he's back and wanting revenge. What better revenge to kill of the members of the Sparda bloodline? When your grandfather fought against Acedeca, I don't think he thought that there was a chance Acedeca might come back. Perhaps why he never warned me.' Kryder raised his eyebrows, the pale green eyes slightly challenging. 

            'If Sparda-'

            'Your grandfather.' 

            'Okay, if my _grandfather _defeated this guy, why should we be so worried? If he could do it then there's no reason why we can't.'        Dante looked grim faced and shook his head silently. Trish and Lucia had emerged from the kitchen. Trish had stopped short, looking shocked. Lucia looked confused. Trish gave her a warning glare. Whatever questions Lucia had in her mind were soon subdued. Dante was now glaring at his son. 

            'Sparda and six others were the last to defeat Acedeca. Acedeca never returned. But…they didn't either.' Kryder looked at him blankly. 'Sparda died that day. Their energy backfired and engulfed not only Acedeca, but them too.' Xyphos' eyes had widened. This adventure had just about lost its appeal. She heard a door click open and turned around. Lucia and Trish looked in the direction of the sound. Though normally it would have been a small noise, easily overlooked, in the tense atmosphere it suddenly seemed to be magnified. 

            Arson walked out of the room, unaware of what had just been said. He smiled benignly at everyone, his eyes sweeping over each face. Dante, Xyphos, Lucia, Kryder, Trish…Kryder!? Arson looked quickly in his father's direction, his eyes widening with surprise. Kryder's face was impassive but at last he smiled. 

            'W-what's going on?' Kryder watched in dismay as Arson recoiled from him and walked straight to Trish. 

            'I'm not sure.' Trish looked towards Dante, eyes glaring. Dante sighed. 

            'I didn't think we had enough energy to take Acedeca out with just four of us. Not with Arson the way he is. So I called Kryder to help us out.' Arson blinked. 

            'You had Dad's number the whole time? And you never told me?' Dante nodded once. 

            'Your father had our number as well. And the number to your apartment.' Arson looked towards Kryder in anger. 

            'And you never even bothered to call? I haven't heard from you in three years, Dad!' Kryder shrugged. 

            'Just like how I haven't heard anything from Dante.' Arson and Kryder both glanced at Dante. Dante muttered something under his breath, turned and left the room. Trish blinked, looking puzzled and went after him. Lucia looked falsely cheerful, as though she didn't know what was going on. Xyphos looked at Arson quietly. 

            'Uh…' Arson could see how awkward she felt from the corner of his eye. Kryder smiled at Xyphos in an attempt to dispel her nervousness. 

            'Don't think we've met.'

            'I'm Xyphos…Arson's friend.'

            'Ah…' Xyphos blinked as she saw the serious look on Arson's face. She fairly ran from the room. 

            'So…'

            'It's not my fault I didn't phone you.' Arson sighed and closed his eyes. 

            'I know.'

            'I was busy…hunting.'

            'Yeah…but I'm confused. Why didn't Dante let me have your number so I could call?' Kryder shrugged. 

            'I don't know. But we'll think about that later. Right now we've got something else to worry about. Are you sure you want to fight?'

            'I have no choice. Kind of runs in my blood doesn't it?' Kryder said nothing but silently noted the grim expression on his face. 

            'You really don't want to do this, do you?'

            'No.'

            'But you're right…you really don't have much of a choice.' Arson felt angry at that point. He knew he didn't have a choice; he didn't have to be told. Right now he just wanted Kryder to shut up and go away, so then he could go and find Dante and confront him. Kryder stood about, neither coming nor going. Arson realized with a sudden flash of intuition that he was feeling just as awkward as he was. He didn't know anyone here; not really. He was by himself. Arson sighed. 

            'Sit down.' Kryder shrugged and stood about even so.

            'Where are you going?'

            'To find Grandfather.' Kryder nodded once. 'If you want, Xyphos will show you around.' 

            'I'm fine.'

            'Dad?' Kryder smiled at hearing Arson say this. 

            'What's up?'

            'Don't be stubborn.' The smile vanished and instead a look of confusion pasted itself on his face. Arson sighed and stopped, turning back to him. 'Alright, follow me.' Arson headed out of the door, outside, shoulders slouched, hands in his pockets. Kryder blinked, sighed, and then followed.

            Trish caught up easily with Dante, who had gone to the weaponry, selecting the weapons he was going to take with him. 

            'Dante?'

            'What.'

            'Why didn't you give Arson Kryder's number?'

            'You won't understand.'

            'Only if you don't say.' Dante smiled. Trust Trish to take a page out of Xy's book. 

            'You've been subjected to Arson and Xy's arguments too much.' Trish smiled also. 

            'Maybe, but still, she did have a point. So tell me, what's wrong? Why didn't you let Arson know?' Dante shrugged. 

            'Just…thought Arson was doing alright without Kryder.' Trish's eyes darkened slightly. 

            'That's not right though…he needs a father figure somewhere along the line.'

            'So what am I? Chopped liver?' Trish blinked. 

            'Dante?' Dante didn't make an answer. 'Is that what this is all about?'

            'What what is all about?'

            'Why you didn't let Arson have Kryder's number?'

            'No.'

            'But…'

            'Yes.'

            'Yes what?' Trish was now genuinely confused. 

            'I thought perhaps if Arson got back in contact the two would get close to each other.'

            'And is that really a bad thing?'

            'Yes.'

            'But why?'

            'C'mon Trish. You've met Kryder before. You know he isn't that great a guy!' Trish frowned at him. 

            'Before when he stayed a week with us, you and him got along fine. But now you seem dead set against him.'

            'I've wizened up.'

            'You're hiding something from me.' Dante raised his eyebrows, an amused smirk on his face.

            'You really _have _been spending too much time with those two.'

            'Dante…' Dante saw the serious expression on Trish's face. He knew somehow that he wouldn't be able to joke his way out of this one. When Trish was fixed on getting to the root of something, she had a grip as strong as a Bulldog's. 

            'All right. I'll tell you.' Trish settled back on the chair she had found and watched him expectantly. 

            'I didn't want Arson to get close to Kryder because I don't want him to get hurt.' Trish nodded and looked about to get up when Dante continued. 'And I don't want Arson to be taken from me.' Trish's eyes widened. 

            'What?!' Dante smiled embarrassedly. 

            'Well…he's more like a son to me than anything else…but he _isn't_…you know what I mean?' Trish nodded, listening. 'I'm afraid that if he gets close to Kryder he'll kind of forget.'

            'Arson isn't that fickle.'

            'Hope not.' Dante was avoiding eye contact with Trish. In fact, he wasn't looking in her direction anymore. He busied himself as though trying to find something. Trish sighed and then found Alastor, his preferred sword, and held it in front of him.

            'You can stop looking. And you can stop feeling embarrassed.' Dante smiled again. Trish had always been able to read him like an open book. 

            Arson and Kryder walked the streets in silence, Kryder taking in his surroundings, his eyes alert, his senses strained. Arson had taken his swords with him. It was almost as though the two were _expecting _to run into some kind of attack. If so, they were ready. 

            Arson paused, his muscles tensing suddenly. Kryder stopped. 

            'Arson?'

            'Y-yes?'

            'Something's wrong…what is it?' Arson shook his head. 

            'Something's coming this way.' Kryder looked up from him and strained his senses. He could feel nothing. Arson suddenly blinked. 

            'WATCH OUT!' He pushed him to the side and flung himself to the ground quickly just as a huge purple beam struck the ground where they had been standing a minute before. Arson's head had stopped ringing. He lay there, his eyes blank. Kryder slowly sat up and blinked at the spot where the beam had struck. A huge crater lay there. 

            'What the hell was that?'

            'I don't know…' said Arson flatly. Kryder looked towards him sharply. 

            'I didn't even sense anything…' Arson made no reply but just lay there, eyes listless. Kryder helped him to his feet but Arson seemed to sag against him. 

            'Arson?'

            'Mm…'

            'C'mon…stand up.'

            'I feel real tired all of a sudden..' Arson suddenly gasped and shuddered wildly. Something seemed to speak in his head. 'Something's happened to Acedeca.'

            'What d'you mean? Is he dead?'

            'No…he's changed form…his name's…Craven? What?' Arson's hands went to his head. 'I don't understand.'

            Sparda started to glow red in Trish's hand. Dante and Xyphos looked up as they heard the strange humming. The sword had stopped talking a long time ago, for a reason Dante nor anyone else knew. But now something seemed to provoke it into speaking again. 

            'A huge transformation has taken place.'

            'What? On who?'

            'On Arson and our enemy.'

            'Ace-'

            'Craven.'

            'Craven?' Dante frowned. Trish looked nonplussed. Xyphos said nothing but looked up at Dante. 

            'Arson? What's happened to him?' But the sword had fallen silent yet again. 


	21. Last Fight

            _I've worked hard on this chapter. And the next chapter is already in the works. I sure hope you guys like this. I have to say that Dante and the rest of the Capcom characters don't belong to me. Kryder, Arson and Craven all belong to me. Xyphos belongs to Vampy Sparda-who's going to hate me soon._

_            Enjoy this guys! And don't forget to review afterwards!_

Chapter 20 

****

            The journey home seemed to take twice as long when compared to how long it had taken them to be attacked. Kryder said nothing but grew silently more concerned for the well being of his son. Arson sagged against him, seemingly as though he didn't have enough strength to even stay on his own two feet. Kryder held him close, only breaking his silence to murmur words of encouragement when Arson stumbled. Arson himself was also quiet. His eyes were lowered, focused on the ground. Kryder constantly looked in his direction, but Arson never did. At last, Kryder spoke properly. 

            'Arson?' His son nodded once to acknowledge him, to show that he was listening. But this was not enough for Kryder. 'Please speak to me.' Arson slowly raised his head and turned to look at him, square in the eyes. Kryder blinked but the rest of his face remained impassive as he stared into Arson's eyes. They were clouded over and dim, and his face was one of a man in a trance. Kryder was about to say something when Arson opened his mouth and spoke. 

            'I'm not in any danger. There's no need to worry.' Kryder blinked again. Arson had read his mind. Kryder was just about to ask him whether he was feeling okay but Arson knew exactly what he meant. Kryder continued to look at him questioningly, willing Arson to know what his next question would be. 'I'm like this because of the angel blood inside my body. It is now available for me to use whenever I want.'

            'You mean you couldn't before?' Arson shook his head. 

            'I have only undergone the transformation once, last year. I could only use it but only when I was infuriated beyond reasoning. Last year, Rayne and a friend of mine, a different one, were about to be murdered by Mundus. I couldn't let that happen. Before I knew what I was doing, I felt anger. Next thing I knew, I was standing in front of Rayne and Dawn, and I was an angel.' Kryder smiled, relief showing on his face. 

            'I'm just glad you're going to be alright.' Arson smiled back. 'I've met Rayne before,' said Kryder suddenly. 

            'We both thought you were dead,' said Arson flatly. 'It was always so hard to say "no" when he asked whether I'd heard from you.' Kryder realised that the conversation was taking a bitter turn. He was treading on thin ice. 

            '…How is the vampire anyway?'

            'It's been three years,' continued Arson. His tone of voice was dull, lifeless. Kryder sighed. It appeared as though he wouldn't be able to avoid the topic. 

            'I told you. I was on a job. Hunting.'

            'Couldn't you have taken at least five minutes to call me? Or even Val?'

            'Val doesn't want to know me. But I really can't blame her. After I tried to phone her I figured that you might feel the same way. So why bother only to be told to go to Hell?' Arson's eyebrows raised slightly. 'I'm really not surprised by Val's reaction.' Arson said nothing for a few minutes. His thoughts were whirling. He suddenly felt as though he understood how his father must have felt. He had always been under the belief that even though Kryder had had to leave when he was still a child, he still loved his family. A small part of him still believed it. Now he found it was true. He looked at his father properly, his eyes clearing slightly. 

            'But…Mother lied about everything. You went on a job. You didn't leave her. Not really. You were always going to come back. Kryder nodded, his face serious. 

            'You must remember, Arson, that even though Val also became a victim, her and your mother were close at first. Some things would have stuck in her mind. Some of Ophelia's ideas would carry on living through her.' Arson thought about this, and then nodded. 

            'I suppose you're right.'

            'I wish I wasn't.' The two were quiet. Arson stumbled again and this time fell to the ground. Kryder crouched down beside him and sighed. 'There's only a little more to go. You're doing great so far. Just a little further and we'll be there.' Arson made no move but simply lay on his side, his eyes closed, breathing in and out. Kryder took a hold of his arms and slowly stood up, helping him to his feet. Kryder slung Arson's arm over his shoulders and supported him that way, as Arson struggled to take his next step. 

            'What's wrong?' said Arson suddenly. 

            'Nothing. Just worried about you. If what you say is true about your angel blood, then how is it that you seem so weakened?' Arson shook his head slowly. 

            'I expect it's because the activation is a huge strain on your body. Also you have to get used to the new feelings that start playing on your body too.' Kryder looked at him sharply.

            'Do you feel anything different then?' Arson nodded slowly. 

            'Sometimes I feel as though I know what you're going to say before you even open your mouth. I feel light, even though I know I can't walk properly just yet. When such a huge weight is taken from you in an instant, it feels horribly different. I expect I'll be okay in an hour or so.' Kryder nodded but then smiled as Devil May Cry came into view.  

Xyphos paced around distractedly. Dante said nothing but sat down pensively, never moving, his eyes closed. At last, a single sound escaped from his lips. Trish heard him sigh and crossed her arms, looking at Lucia, who in turn looked at the floor. Thank God those two had finally shut up. It was hard to believe that they would have ever been quiet. However, with the situation at hand, Dante thought it would have been better had they kept talking. It seemed that they were only quiet when something had seriously gone wrong. 

            At last, the door opened and then slammed shut. Trish stood up immediately and practically ran to the hall. Kryder had Arson's arm over his shoulder supporting him. Xyphos blinked. 

            'Is he okay?' Kryder didn't answer. Arson looked up at Xyphos wearily. Dante calmly took Arson from Kryder and sat him down on the couch. Arson allowed his head to fall back and closed his eyes, breathing in and out deeply as Kryder told them what had happened. 

            '…It was almost as though he saw a vision or something. I swear, I couldn't sense anything.' Dante looked towards his grandson thoughtfully and then smiled and nodded at Kryder. 

            'I think he was right about the angel blood.' He bent down so then his face was level with Arson's. His voice remained calm and his face seemed to be carved of stone. 'Arson, how are you feeling?'

            '…'

            'Arson?'

            'The same as what I told my father.' Kryder blinked. Arson had always been so formal with him. He made him feel as though the two weren't even related. Trish looked at him and frowned slightly. Kryder seemed to look shaken. Trish was about to say something to him when Kryder turned away and walked off.

            'Mind if I make myself a coffee?' Trish shook her head but followed Kryder. 

            'Don't feel bad about Arson's behaviour.' 

            'I guess I should expect it.'

            'He doesn't mean anything by it. Just give him a little time to warm up. It must be strange for you as well.' Kryder nodded. He had to admit, it was true. He sipped at the warm liquid, shuddering as he felt it warm him from head to toe. 

            The rest of the day passed uneventfully as Arson grew more and more accustomed to the new feelings that ran through him every so often. Xyphos and Dante continued to train. Kryder simply meditated while Trish and Lucia trained against each other. Kryder opened his eyes once when Lucia crashed into him by mistake. Had he not known that they were only training, he would have thought that the two were out for each other's blood. Kryder wisely moved out of the way and took his meditation somewhere else. 

            It was night when the group set off, Arson in the lead. He would constantly pause after every few minutes, listening. Dante strained his ears but could hear nothing but the wind. Arson suddenly crouched down into a fighter's stance, weapons at the ready. 

            A black fuzzy shape lunged out at them. Arson dodged quickly and then took out his single obsidian gun that Trish had given him. Dante had already beaten him to it, firing several rounds into the Shadow. The black cat seemed to dissolve away until only the glowing core was visible. Kryder rushed at it, spear thrown forwards. There was another shriek and then it seemed to disintegrate into a red mist. Xy relaxed. 

            '…That wasn't bad at all. In fact, that was easy.' Dante growled. 

            'Almost too easy.' Arson remained crouched down, muscles tense, swords ready. Light from a nearby lamp post glinted off the blades. Xyphos shuddered. 

            'He's close,' whispered Arson, his voice sounding like a knell. Xyphos blinked. 

            'What? How do you know?'

            'Just trust me. He's here.' Kryder nodded and readied himself. Lucia and Xyphos continued to look confused. Xyphos frowned. 

            'This is silly. There's nobody he-' Xy was cut short as her scream reverberated through the surroundings. She was sent flying back. Her scream stopped abruptly as she hit the ground hard. Arson whirled around, his eyes wide. 

            'Xy!' He ran towards her, fearing for the worst. His way was barred when a figure came in his way. Craven. Arson's surprise was absolute as he appeared in front of him. 

            Calm hazel eyes looked into his own. Craven raised his hand, a smile on his face. The weapons suddenly seemed to weigh a ton in Arson's hands. They fell to the ground with a clatter. 

            'So…this must be the welcoming committee,' said Craven, his voice like velvet. 'I'm surprised more didn't turn up.' Dante growled, drawing attention to himself. Craven's eyes flickered lazily across his features. 'I see Sparda left behind some waste after I finished with him.' Dante's eyes blazed with hate for the one who had killed his father. Arson had frozen in one spot. Kryder was tense, he looked around nervously. Craven laughed with amusement at the expression on Dante's face. 

            'Don't worry, Son of Sparda, you'll be following in your Daddy's footprints soon enough! You'll traverse the same path as he, on his way to death!' Dante gave vent to a war-cry as he charged forwards, his rage blotting out any fear that he may have held. 

            The first blow had already been struck. Arson seemed to vault into action as steel clashed against steel. He ran towards his fallen friend, tears stinging his eyes as he saw that Xyphos was well and truly dead. Her eyes were wide with fear, her mouth was slack, a grimace of terror. Arson looked upon her face, which was rapidly losing colour. 

            'No…oh God, no…' 

Dante was flung to the ground. Kryder rejoined the fight with Craven, using his spear to keep his distance from the demon, which was armed with a katana and a whip. Craven cracked this at him, and it coiled around Kryder's ankle, tripping him up. Kryder quickly raised his weapon, in order to parry the blow from the heavy blade. Trish ran up on Craven from behind, Sparda in her hands. Lucia aimed and threw a dagger, severing the whip that still hadn't relinquished its grip on Kryder's ankle. Kryder quickly kicked upwards, knocking the katana back into Craven's face, causing him to stagger back and impale himself on Sparda. Trish smiled in triumph; for the story behind Craven, he sure wasn't that tough. Craven suddenly laughed, the ground shuddering at the sound, causing all to lose their footing. Dante was the first to get to his feet, having already been knocked to the ground. He rushed at Craven again, raising Alastor. Steel clashed against steel again, singing the wild song of death.

Arson swallowed hard, gazing upon the body of Xyphos. A sudden hot rage swept over him. Without realizing, he stood up and turned to face Craven. Craven and Dante both paused, looking at Arson with awe as white hot flames surrounded him. Kryder blinked and looked on with wide eyes. Lucia and Trish had also frozen in place. Hot tears trickled down Arson's face as he glared at Craven. 

'You coward,' he grated out. 'She hadn't done anything. Compared to us, she was harmless.' The white flames swirled around faster about his body. Arson hadn't even seemed to notice that two slits had appeared in his back. Kryder gasped as he saw two slim white _things _forming out of his back. These slowly unfolded to reveal themselves as wings. Arson's voice was choked. 

'Bastard. I'll make you pay for this! I'll make you wish you had never been born!' The white flames were now spinning so fast that they were blurred into one. The tornado formed itself around him in front of everyone's eyes. The light grew in intensity, causing Lucia to shield her eyes. The tornado suddenly scattered, all directed at Craven, knocking him backwards. 

Kryder's eyes were filled with a mixture of pride and awe as he looked upon his son. The golden white aura shone about Arson brightly, his eyes burning with gold light, his hair streaked a slightly lighter brown. The wings unfolded again, flapped once or twice before folding up neatly on Arson's back. A thin smile played over the boy's face. Dante blinked, seeing that Craven was distracted completely from them. He started to gather energy into a red ball after turning into a demon. Kryder saw what he was up to and followed his lead, as did the others. Meanwhile, Arson was still smiling. 

'Come on…let's do this!' Two battle-cries mingled in the air as Arson and Craven charged at each other joining in a fight to the death. 


	22. Sweet Regret

(blinks and looks about) Guess what everyone! This is the last chapter before the Epilogue. I tried to make it a tear jerker but I think I failed. Oh well, you can't do everything right, right? Anyway just a huge big thank you to all of those who have supported me throughout the writing of this fic. ^_^ I hope you guys won't stop reading my stuff after this is all completely finished!

_I actually enjoyed writing this one a lot more than Darkness Falling. I look back on that and think, "Whooooooo! That was CRAP!"_

_But I digress. Now if these damned pop ups stop, I will continue to tell you all the tale of woe that is Arson's Destiny._

_Enjoy, and don't forget…reviews are vital for a writer's life source. _

_Thank you._

Chapter 21 

****

            Dante breathed out heavily as he felt the first throbs of energy enter his two hands. Kryder's eyes showed no emotion, but then they slowly closed as though in meditation. Dante understood then and there why Kryder had taken to meditating so much. He had simply thought that it was a way to waste time until the fight, but his son had proved him wrong yet again. Lucia's face was a picture of grim determination. Her red hair was blown back by the wind that had struck up. Dante looked up to see Lucia's face take on a look of strain as she concentrated for all she was worth.

            'Dante,' said a voice in his ear. Trish.

            'What is it?'

            'Xy's dead.' Dante simply nodded. He had already realized when he had seen Arson's rage explode into pure power. 'What are we going to do?' she whispered.

            'Pray that we have enough power to take the bastard down,' said Dante, a grim smile on his face. 'Now shut up and start gathering energy. Gather as much as you can, ever little bit will help us finish him off.' Trish nodded silently. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the two combatants carry on their mad charge.

            Arson stretched out his wings before the two collided, took a leap into the air and took to the sky. Craven growled, angry that h had been taken unawares as fire rained down upon him. Arson kept flying higher, determined to keep the fight away from his family and friends.  Craven took flight and pursued him. 

            'Fight like a man!' he taunted. Arson shook his head. 

            'I can't. I'm not a man. I'm a hybrid. Half demon, half angel. To fight the way man does would be lying to myself.' Craven rolled his eyes but then flapped his wide black leathery wings so then he was above Arson. Arson followed his movement with his eyes and then took off in the opposite direction to Dante and the others, flying as fast as he could. His white wings propelled him onwards, sometimes he rode with the wind, allowing it to carry him forward without exerting himself. Craven flew behind him, taking the bait.

            It suddenly occurred to Arson that if he led Craven too far away from his friends, they would not be able to hit him and strike the fatal blow that would end his life. He'd be out of range. All that energy would have gone to waste and there would not be a second chance to try again. They'd be dead before Arson would be able to distract Craven again. 

            Arson zoomed first one way and then the other, sometimes gaining altitude, sometimes dropping down lower purposely as he struggled to keep his enemy confused and distracted for as long as he possibly could. 

            Craven soon tired of this game and started flying after Arson for real. The hybrid realised then and there what a fool he had been. He had simply assumed that Craven had already been using his maximum speed, and that he couldn't go any faster. He had been wrong. All these thoughts took place in the space of a second, but even then Arson barely had time to pull in his wings and drop down a few feet as Craven rushed overhead. Arson turned in midair seeing that Craven was flying back towards where the others were positioned. Panic gave way to all sense as he reached out and grabbed one of his wings at the last second. Craven growled out in pain and turned to face Arson, who had tried to make a run for it.

            Arson smiled grimly but then squeaked as he flew against a hard force. Craven. He smirked. 

            'You foolish child. Did you really think that you could try and outrun me?' Arson's eyes widened slightly. 'Did you really believe that your speed surpassed mine?' Arson cried out in pain as Craven punched him hard in the gut, knocking the breath from him. Arson gasped and coughed and slowly straightened up, his wings moving slowly but then picking up the pace. Craven smirked again but then paled slightly as white winds began forming, spinning faster. Arson raised one hand towards Craven. The cyclone moved towards him at a blinding speed, too fast for Craven to even think properly about what was happening.

            His world was spinning, he felt sick and dizzy. What was happening to him? Rocks and sharp stones cut him as the wind blasted them back and forth. Craven snarled with rage at his own stupidity. He had underestimated the boy. Using most of his strength, he pointed one hand down towards the ground and shot a large powerful purple beam of energy. The impact of it blasting against the ground was the lift that he needed. His wings spread out as he was cannoned out of the tornado. He hovered there for several moments, trying to pinpoint Arson's position.

            A sudden weight crashed into the back of his head. Craven whirled around, his vision swimming. Arson pounded down upon him, wanting him only to feel the same pain he was feeling deep inside. Craven at last gave vent to another low growl and grabbed his fist as it went sailing past his ear. 

            'Playtime's over!' Arson screamed in pain as Craven rained down upon him. Arson tried to escape but Craven suddenly latched onto his wings, pulling on them so then he was dragged back towards him. Feathers flew everywhere from Arson's wings as they became damaged. Arson fell to the ground, a crumpled heap, tears in his eyes. He moved his wings slightly, only to find that it pained him when he did. He winced and moaned. He gasped as he felt the ground leave his body. He was floating. Arson looked around in confusion and then tried to fight the sensation and tried to get back on solid ground. Suddenly, he was blinded with white hot pain. His vision started turning black, he was only aware of the agony that ran through his body over and over again. Craven continued to clench his fist, both he and Arson glowing with a purple aura. Arson screamed again in pain and thrashed about. He suddenly turned rigid at the sound of bones crunching under the pressure. He continued to rise, the only thing keeping him afloat was Craven's power. 

            Dante growled as he watched the battle. His arms were shaking; in his hands a huge red ball of energy trembled as it clamoured to be set loose to cause destruction. Kryder remained with his eyes closed, still gathering more energy for his attack. Trish and Lucia stopped the gathering, watching Arson struggle and scream in mid air. Lucia looked at Dante. 

            'He won't be able to hold up for much longer,' she said softly. Trish nodded her agreement. 

            'We have to act now and put our energy as one and attack.' Dante weighed up the angle as he listened to Trish. His eyes widened. Kryder had opened his eyes, looking at Trish with rage. More energy flowed into the power ball as it fed off his anger and frustration. 

            'But from this angle we'll kill Arson too!' yelled Kryder. Trish nodded, her eyes filled with tears. 

            'Do you really think I don't know that?' Lucia gasped, a high pitched sound. 

            'Can't we change position?' 

            'We might lose all the energy that we gathered,' explained Dante, his voice heavy. 'It's now or never.' Kryder looked at him in horror.

            'How can you be so calm? You really don't care, do you?' Dante's jaw tightened and he turned to face him, his ice blue eyes blazing with cold fire. 

            'Shut up and don't ever say that to me again.' Dante readied himself and took a deep breath. 'This one's for you, Father.'

            Arson smiled quite suddenly but then started crying out in pain as it worsened. Craven smiled and then moved closer to the hybrid. Arson swallowed hard but could only stay in one place. Craven grinned. 

            'You could save yourself some pain if you join me. What do you say? All the power you want. You wouldn't have to fight anymore, Arson. Because everyone would be under your rule. Who knows, I might bring that girl back to life for you.' Arson scowled and spat in Craven's face without a moment's hesitation. 

            'I'd rather die than join you! You killed her! She was practically harmless! And you just took her out in one blow!' Craven looked disgusted. 

            'You talk too much…very well, wretch. I guess that means I won't let you live.' Craven grabbed onto Arson's neck and started squeezing. Arson could make no move, bound by Craven's strength. Suddenly, the feeling of strangulation stopped. Arson gasped and panted as he slowly opened his eyes. He turned his head towards the direction that Craven was staring at. The tyrant's face had taken on a look of pure disbelief. Craven's arms went up to shield himself. Arson blinked and then screamed out in terror as he began to fall down. He cried out again in pain as he was engulfed by a white light. 

            Dante watched for any signs of life from Craven. He could see none. Kryder had come across the body while searching frantically for his son. The corpse was fried, evidently they had done the job well. But one had to be sure. Dante crouched down beside the body and very gingerly felt for a heartbeat. There was none. He blinked and then pulled up a few blades of grass. There was no wind. He held the grass in front of Craven's mouth and nose, watching for any movement. There was none. Craven wasn't breathing. He was deader than a stone. Dante breathed out a long sigh and then stood up. Lucia was behind him, looking pale-faced. 

            'We were lucky, no?'

            'Very lucky. Looks like my father found _too _much energy. Perhaps that's why it backfired on him.' Lucia was about to say something when she was silenced by an anguished cry.

            Kryder fell to his knees beside his son, tears falling out of his eyes. He shook his head silently as he gently cradled his son to his body, sobbing brokenly, rocking with him back and forth in his grief. 

            'It can't end like this! It can't!' he yelled hoarsely. Tears rolled shamelessly down his face, landing on the pale cold flesh of his child. 'After everything you survived through, after all that, you can't be…you _can't _be!' Dante ran up and stopped short as he saw. Kryder heard him and turned his head to face him, his green eyes bursting with raw emotion. Dante could tell just by looking into his eyes that he couldn't see properly; his vision was blinded by tears.

            'Why?! _Why?! _We killed him…I killed him…I had a hand in this…Oh God…Arson!' Kryder wailed. Dante blinked several times as though clearing something from his eyes but then glared at Kryder. 

            'I had no choice! It had to be done!' Kryder rested his son's head against his chest and cradled him as though he were a baby. Sobs continued to wrack his body. 

            'Forgive me, Arson…I never meant any of this to happen. Please, please wake up…_wake up, Arson!_' There was no reply. Arson lay cold and unresponsive in his father's arms, eyes closed, mouth open, his skin losing colour. Trish swallowed hard and looked at Dante as though pleadingly as Kryder continued to mourn. Dante looked towards Trish and shook his head. Lucia stood to one side, her head lowered. 

            '…He was…a very brave boy…' she whispered. Kryder shook his head, refusing to believe. 

            'Shut up! Don't talk about him like that! He's still alive, he wouldn't let this hurt him. He's _got _to be alive!'

            'Kryder…' Trish whispered weakly. 

            'I'm not giving up on him!' screamed Kryder. His eyes had closed, he was bent low over his son so then his hair covered his face, so that no one could see. Trish looked at Dante again as though begging him silently to do something. 

            'I don't have a yellow orb…' he said softly. 

            '_He doesn't NEED a yellow orb! He's alive!' shouted Kryder, in hysterics. Dante snapped. _

            'Look. He's _dead okay? _Dead. _He's not going to wake up. He's not coming back!' yelled Dante. Kryder's whole body shook with grief as the news struck home. _

            'No…' he moaned. 'No…not Arson…' Trish fell into Dante's arms, weeping. Dante took in a shaky breath. Though on the outside he didn't look as though he gave a damn, on the inside he felt as though he was being ripped apart. It was hard to believe that the one he had trained and had taken care of like a father was gone. It all had a dreamlike quality, as though he'd wake up and find that everything would be back to normal. But a part of him took it for the truth with a cold acceptance. He had been afraid that Arson was going to be taken from him, and now he had been. He had been taken away from everyone.

            'We…should all head back,' Dante heard himself say as though in a trance. He started to lead Trish away, his feet following a path they seemed to know by themselves. Lucia nodded and followed behind silently. Only Kryder remained. His head raised as he heard something clatter on the ground. He looked back and saw that Dante had dropped a Vital star. Kryder blinked and then reached out for it, looking back at Arson. 

            'Dad's wrong. You're not…you're still alive. I _know _it.' He placed the star on Arson's chest and held it there for several minutes. Nothing happened. Kryder shook his head with a mixture of anger and grief and thumped the star down hard on Arson's chest.

            'Come on! Work, damn it!' Kryder's voice shook and he collapsed, a sobbing heap. Kryder suddenly stopped crying, his eyes flying open as he heard a single word.

            '…Dad...?' Kryder smiled, and rejoiced. 


	23. Epilogue Good Bye, Arson!

It's sometimes so hard to believe the things one can write. Sometimes, I look back on what I write and wonder whether I really did come up with it. An example of this was looking back at Chapter 21. I don't know how I actually managed to write what I wrote…it seems so like my writing but yet in a way it doesn't seem as though I'd be able to pull off something like that.

_I must sound as if I'm boasting, but the truth is I'm shocked that people liked the chapter. Loads are saying I should actually be more confident in myself. Ah well…is it time to divulge in a few secrets? I think it might be. The next OC is a vampire. A pure-breed. Dark Mysterious and Hot too. ^_^_

_Okay enough about him, time to end this fic!_

Epilogue 

****

            _I had given Arson up for dead…so when Kryder walked in with a battered angel in his hands who just happened to have several broken ribs, I was surprised to say the least. Strange…he had seemed so small, so childlike. Trish told me later on that she had wanted to scoop him up in a hug. Very unTrishlike. I guess I can imagine how she feels. The two have been good for each other. Arson had finally found the mother figure he needed when he met Trish…despite the fact that she can't cook anything to save her life. It would make the job a hell of a lot easier if I just fed the demons some of the crap she makes. I guess Trish, being new from the Underworld and everything found that it was nice to be depended on sometimes. Especially from a kid. Even though she's a clone of my mother, she had never felt the love a Mom could have…I think. How am I meant to know? I'm not psychic. At least Arson's had someone to depend on…_

_            You know, even though I've never really had anything to say to Kryder, I'm always going to be grateful. I had given up…he hadn't. There was still this little part of him that thought Arson was still alive. Even though he and Arson hadn't met for three years, Kryder still loved him enough to refuse to accept what we all thought was the truth. It's a miracle really that Arson's still with us, and that Kryder had hit the right spot in that one lucky punch that brought Arson back to us. For the rest of the month Kryder stayed with us. Or rather, stayed by Arson's side. He had become fiercely protective of him, even though it wasn't as though he went anywhere. But can you really blame him?_

_            I couldn't either. Though he and Xy went through rough times, they still loved each other, I guess. I know it sounds horrible me saying this, but I think it was a blessing in disguise that Xy died. It gave Arson the power he needed to try and take on Craven by himself. If it wasn't for Arson, we probably wouldn't have lasted long without the distraction that we needed. _

_            Sometimes he sits by himself, simply staring at a window. At those times, I wish I could say something. All I can come up with is a blank. His eyes turn faraway, as though he'd rather be anywhere else but here. I know how he feels. Especially after my mother…_

_            Yeah…hurts even now. Sometimes…you find you can't get over stuff. It keeps replaying in your mind. If Arson's anything like me, he'll be dreaming of how he could have possibly saved her. Soon he'll wake up and understand that there was simply nothing that could be done. He wasn't to know. I wasn't to know…Life seems to throw all these obstacles in your way and so many times it feels like you're running into a brick wall. Though we curse our lives at the time, I guess at the end it makes us stronger. _

_            Kryder left once the month was up. Said something about a job he had to get back to. I hope to God I never have to say this, but I'm proud of him. He has his flaws and he's done some wrong in the past, but he's all right. Sounds like Trish is trying to cook up a storm in the kitchen. It'll all end in tears. Better go save myself some trouble later on by ordering pizza. Again…_

Dante put down his pen and swept the book he was writing in into a drawer before walking into the kitchen. 

            'Trish…what are you doing?' Trish turned and grinned. 

            'Thought I'd try and cook something for once.'

            'Thought wrong. We're having pizza.'

            'Again?'

            'Again.' Trish said nothing to Dante's reply but then smiled. 

            'D'you think Arson would want some? He might want to catch up and-'

            'Trish.' Trish looked up at Dante and sighed. 'Arson needs some time alone. To get used to things. He doesn't need you to mother him now. He's eighteen years old and he needs time.'

            'But-'

            'He just needs time,' repeated Dante firmly. Trish sighed and nodded. 

            'I just wish there was something I could do.'

            'I know…'

            'Dante?'

            'Yeah?'

            'You think he's going to be all right?' Dante smiled down at her.

            'I'm sure he will be…he is Arson after all…he finds a way through nearly everything.' Trish smiled and then nodded again.

_            Arson stood in the middle of a desert, the sand moving in small whirlwinds over the wide, dry sandy expanse. Arson kept on walking, his shoes leaving imprints in the sand as he walked.  At last he stopped as he found what he was looking for. _

_            'I am sorry for your loss, Arson,' said the familiar voice. Arson said nothing but then at last he smiled. However, there was no feeling behind it; it just seemed to have pasted itself there._

_            'I'm hoping she's in a better place now.' Ara nodded and smiled. _

            'You have nothing to worry about.' She paused. 'You can always join her…that is, if you really want to. It would mean leaving this world behind though, and leaving your grandfather and Kryder.' Arson shook his head straight away and then turned away and walked away from her. Ara watched him go and smiled again. 'So…the legacy of Sparda shall continue. For it was in your destiny, Arson. This was all destined to be…'

            Arson woke up, and smiled. 

**_The End_**


End file.
